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Biron, second-period outburst buoy Flyers past Devils

Oct 19, 2007 - 3:35 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Martin Biron has been kind to the Philadelphia Flyers this season. So has the second period.

Biron stopped all 38 shots he faced and a three-goal second period for the second consecutive game lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

The 30-year-old goaltender posted his 20th career shutout and second in as many games by stopping 15 shots in the first period, 12 in the second and 11 in the third.

"I've never had much success against the Devils," Biron said. "The Devils were always tough, so to get that result against a team that you have had struggles against is a good thing."

Biron, who was acquired from Buffalo at last season's trade deadline, stopped 31 shots in a 4-0 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday. He has not surrendered a goal in 137 minutes, 22 seconds.

"The puck seems to be finding me," Biron said. "The deflections seem to be hitting instead of going past me and into the net. That's just the way it works sometimes."

Biron's best save on Thursday came just before the end of the second period, when he stopped the speedy John Madden on a shorthanded breakaway as time expired.

"I knew that there wasn't much time left," Biron said. "I was expecting a quick shot to my pads, so I wanted to shut that down. I know that he was pressured by time, so I wanted to stand my ground."

Second-period goals by Mike Richards, Sami Kapanen and Jim Dowd gave Biron all the offensive support he needed. The Flyers have scored 14 of their 25 goals this season in the middle session.

Philadelphia's offensive outburst did not look plausible after it was outshot, 15-2, in the first period. New Jersey, however, was unable to score on its four first-period power plays.

Then, the Flyers took over.

Richards opened the scoring just under four minutes into the second period.

Daniel Briere gained control of the puck in the corner, drawing the attention of two New Jersey defenders. Briere found Richards in the slot, and after settling the puck, the third-year center wristed it over netminder Martin Brodeur's blocker for his fourth goal of the season.

"We got in trouble because of the penalties," Briere said. "We got out composure back in the second and we started to take the game over after that."

Four minutes later, Kapanen doubled the Flyers' advantage with his third goal in as many games.

After Philadelphia won a faceoff in its own zone, Kapanen gained control of the puck and raced up the left wing. From the top of the left faceoff circle, he blasted the rolling puck between Brodeur's glove and body for a 2-0 lead.

"They had a power play and they scored right away," Brodeur said. "They got the knuckleball from Kapanen that found its way in. Marty played well. He made some big saves at the right time."

Dowd, a two-time former member of the Devils, deflected defenseman Randy Jones' shot from the blue line past Brodeur at 10:49 to give the Flyers a 3-0 bulge.

"I just turned and it hit the shaft of my stick," said Dowd, who scored his first goal as a member of the Flyers. "I just got in front and it hit me. I didn't even see it go in."

New Jersey tried to respond one minute later, when Zach Parise circled the net and passed the puck toward the crease. It deflected off the skate of former Flyer Dainius Zubrus, who was tied up with defenseman Kimmo Timonen, and into the net.

The goal, however, was immediately waved off by the on-ice officials.

"We didn't compete as hard in the second period," Parise said. "We had that hunger in the first that wasn't there in the second."

Joffrey Lupul added a goal in the third period to seal the outcome.

Philadelphia, which has won five of its first six games this season, did not record its fifth triumph last season until November 16. The Devils did not do the Flyers any favors last season, posting a 7-0-1 record in the series.

"The thing is that I don't think that we played anywhere (near) our best game and we were able to find a way to win a hockey game," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "I think it's a very good indication that we are capable of doing good things with this team."

Brodeur made 14 saves for the Devils, who played the seventh of their nine-game road trip to start the season.

New Jersey coach Brent Sutter, however, was not about to use that as an excuse.

"I'm tired of talking to guys about the road," Sutter said. "We had a game in Pittsburgh last night and we had a 30-minute flight.

"The players have been laying around, waiting to play today. They're players, that's what they're supposed to do. When you play hockey games, you've got to play."