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Briere's hat trick lifts Flyers over Senators in OT

Jan 7, 2012 - 10:37 PM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Danny Briere completed his fifth career hat trick with just 5.3 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators in the opener of a home-and-home series.

Briere, whose power-play goal tied the game 2-2 at the 9:12 mark of the third period, emerged with the puck from behind the net and tried to jam it in at the right post. The initial attempt was thwarted by Ottawa's Craig Anderson, but Briere backhanded his own rebound between the goaltender's pads.

"It wasn't our best game, to be honest, today," Briere said. "[The Senators] are a team that skates well and they battled hard. I don't know if it was the afternoon game or what but it didn't feel like we were at our best. But to be able to somehow find a way to get a win, this is huge. Back to back wins against two good opponents after dropping the [Winter Classic]."

Ilya Bryzgalov made 35 saves for the Flyers, who have won three of their last four games.

"He was excellent, I thought, from the start to the finish," Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette said about his goalie.

Anderson stopped 36 shots for Ottawa, which had its win streak snapped at four games.

Briere opened the scoring in the first period and the Senators countered in the middle stanza on a goal by Milan Michalek. Each player lit the lamp at the 11:05 mark of their respective periods.

The Flyers had an opportunity to move back in front when Ottawa was whistled for consecutive too-many-men-on-the-ice penalties early in the third period. Bobby Butler, who served both infractions, gave the Senators the lead shortly after leaving the penalty box a second time, converting a rebound of an Erik Karlsson slap shot at 6:43.

Philadelphia finally capitalized on a power play to pull even. Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, playing through an upper-body injury (believed to be a wrist injury) that forced him to depart Thursday's game against Chicago, fired a shot on net from the point. Briere got his stick on the shot before Ottawa's Chris Phillips inadvertently directed the puck into his own net.

"Yeah, we are going to look forward to [Sunday's rematch in Ottawa]," said Senators head coach Paul MacLean. "I think it is going to be another good game. We get to play at home and we get the last change. Things could go a different way."

Game Notes

Briere also fought Ottawa's Kyle Turris. He became the first Flyer to record a hat trick and a fight in the same game since Scott Hartnell on December 11, 2008 versus Carolina...Hartnell played in his 800th career NHL game Saturday...Six of the last eight Ottawa games have been decided in overtime or a shootout.