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Jagr's OT tally gets Flyers past Pavelec, Jets

Feb 22, 2012 - 4:36 AM Winnipeg, MB (Sports Network) - Jaromir Jagr's tally with 43.6 seconds left in overtime spoiled a 50-save performance by Ondrej Pavelec and sent Philadelphia past Winnipeg by a 5-4 count at MTS Centre.

Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux all posted a goal and one assist for the Flyers, who avoided a season sweep and won their second game in three thanks to a season-high in shots on net.

"As far as the attack goes, I really liked our game and I'm really proud that the guys kept coming, and pumping, and it was one of those gutsy efforts that you look back on and might have been one of our best and toughest wins of the year," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette of his club, which leads the NHL in goals with 198. "You know, we keep fighting and keep pushing to get the two points."

Ilya Bryzgalov was solid enough, making 22 saves for his second victory in three starts.

Andrew Ladd netted a pair of goals and Tim Stapleton added three helpers for the Jets, whose three game win streak came to an end.

Pavelec tied a career-high for saves in defeat. He also stopped 50 in a 3-1 win at Ottawa on October 31, 2009.

The 24-year-old Czech, born in the same town as Jagr, preserved a one-goal margin with a spectacular diving glove save on Jakub Voracek inside of eight minutes to play on a Philadelphia advantage, then made a sprawling pad stop on Simmonds seconds later.

"He's been playing like that all year. I think it's pretty spectacular but I don't think we're too surprised by it," noted Jets forward Evander Kane. "There's a lot of pucks that go towards the net that not a lot of goalies would be able to stop but he's so athletic he's able to do that."

Bryzgalov was pulled for an extra skater with just over a minute remaining, and a James van Riemsdyk centering feed found its way to Simmonds for a successful redirect in front 9.7 seconds to play.

On the winner, Danny Briere emerged from a battle behind the net with the puck and wheeled around for a dish into the slot. Jagr did the rest, beating a Jets defenseman and his countryman to the left post.

It looked like another long night in Manitoba's capital for the visitors, when Dustin Byfuglien slipped a right-point blast between Bryzgalov's pads on a power play with 7:29 left in the first period.

Giroux evened the score a little over three minutes later on a high backhander from the left side, then Hartnell put the Flyers up 2-1 on the advantage with 1:09 played in the second.

Ladd drew the hosts even during another power play on a shot in close at the 7:52 mark, then gave the Jets a one-goal edge just over a minute later on a backhander from just outside the crease.

Max Talbot then followed up a blocked Andrej Meszaros' point drive and beat Pavelec for a 3-3 game at 11:14.

Winnipeg then added its third power-play score of the contest to take a 4-3 lead at 4:57 of the third as Bryzgalov stabbed at Kane's floater from below the right circle with his glove and missed.

Game Notes

Pavelec's previous season-high in saves was 39, accomplished on November 8 at Buffalo and December 6 against Boston and Hartnell's tally was his league-best 14th on the power play, one better than Pittsburgh's James Neal...Ladd has scored three times in the last two games following a 13-game goal drought...The last time a team based in Winnipeg swept the Flyers was 1984-85, when the original Jets won all three of that season's matchups...Philadelphia hasn't lost consecutive games in Manitoba's capital since dropping four in a row from November of 1983 to December of 1985...Bryan Little added two assists in the setback.