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Knuble gives Flyers commanding series lead

Apr 18, 2008 - 5:39 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Jeff Carter began the scoring 42 seconds into the game. Nearly 86 minutes later, he helped finish it.

Carter set up Mike Knuble for a goal at 6:40 of the second overtime, lifting the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game Four of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Thursday.

Carter finished with two goals and an assist and Daniel Briere added his league-leading fifth tally of the postseason for the sixth-seeded Flyers, who grabbed a three-games-to-one lead over the third-seeded Capitals.

"I'm really excited for our team and the way we were able to find a way to win," Philadelphia coach John Stevens said. "I really thought that Washington came out and came at us hard. ... We found a way to get it done. It's great to see the excitement in our team after a win like that."

"I thought in the second overtime, we were the much better team," Briere said. "You have to give them credit because they battled hard tonight. They were hungrier for pucks and they battled hard. That's why it took us so long to clinch the win."

Calder Trophy candidate Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and defenseman Steve Eminger scored for Washington, which hosts Game Five on Saturday afternoon.

"Well, you never give up and it's not over yet," said Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, who recorded two assists. "It's not over. That is all I can say - it's not over."

"We'll take it one game at a time," Washington's Sergei Fedorov added. "I think that it's possible. We'll get some rest, regroup and we'll go at it again. ... That's what is good about the playoffs - you just never know."

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau gave no credence to the fact his team is behind due to a lack of playoff experience and believes it can overcome the deficit.

"That's a bunch of crap and stuff that people make up, that it's a young team," he said. "You win your home game (on Saturday) and you've got to win on the road. Then you take it home and you take care of business there. I'm sure they're counting us out, but when we had to win seven in a row (at the end of the regular season), we did it. So don't count us out."

Fresh off a victory in the pivotal third game of the series, the Flyers wasted little time gaining the edge in this one as Carter received a cross-slot pass from Knuble and put a backhander from the inner edge of the right faceoff circle inside the left goalpost just 42 seconds into the first period.

"It was huge," Carter said of the early goal. "Anytime you can get a lead in a series is big. To get a goal in the first minute when they were already going hard was really great."

Just under 86 minutes later, the 23-year-old returned the favor.

Following a scramble near the right post in double-overtime, Carter gained possession of the puck behind the net and came around to the left side before making a cross-crease pass to Knuble, whose backhand shot was stopped by Cristobal Huet.

However, Knuble grabbed the rebound and lifted it over the goaltender's left pad, ending the longest game of this postseason and giving Philadelphia a commanding lead in the series.

"The play just ended up behind the net, and (Carter and Scottie Upshall) are just tenacious on the puck," Knuble said. "(Huet) stopped the first one, but it just ended up on my forehand and I chipped it up and over. It was a big thrill."

"They got a few pokes at it. It ended up behind the net and on the other side," said Huet, who fell to 1-3 lifetime in playoff overtimes. "I was able to make the first save and then he was able to put the rebound in. I think that he put it over my glove."

Knuble believed it was the biggest goal of his career thus far.

"Besides your first goal in the league, which is a big thrill, this one was a huge thrill," he said. "To score in a hockey town like Philadelphia, and at this point in the season to put our team up 3-1, is a huge thrill."

Stevens was extremely impressed with the line of Carter, Knuble and Upshall, which accounted for three goals and four assists in the game.

"I thought that line was tremendous," Stevens said. "Having to play the bulk of the minutes against the Ovechkin line and to come up with three goals for us, it was just a tremendous effort from the whole line."

After Carter's early goal, a pair of youngsters netted their first career postseason tallies as Washington cashed in on two power plays later in the first to move ahead.

Backstrom received a cross-slot pass from Ovechkin and put a shot inside the right post at 2:41 to forge a tie. With 7:01 to go and the Capitals on a 5-on-3 advantage, Semin converted a cross-crease feed from the right side by Backstrom, giving Washington a 2-1 edge.

Carter knotted the contest with 87 seconds left in the period. From the top of the left circle, defenseman Jaroslav Modry dished to Carter, who waited for Huet to commit before firing the puck into the net for his third goal of the series.

Eminger got to a loose puck in the right circle and beat netminder Martin Biron at 5:56 of the second to put the Capitals back in front, 3-2.

"We tried to take it to the net," Eminger said. "I just tried to put it on the net. We had a good screen. I don't think that Biron saw it. I was just throwing on the net there."

Huet made it stand by making a brilliant diving save on Upshall just over nine minutes into the third.

"They shot and it was blocked and it went behind the net," Huet said. "They put it back in play and Upshall was able to have a good shot. I was desperate to make the save. A lucky save."

But with 9:59 remaining in the period, Mike Richards made a cross-crease pass to Briere, who beat Huet from the left side of the crease to draw the Flyers even.

"Mike gave me a great pass," Briere said. "At least I think it was a pass because I couldn't see much. It was right on my tape. I couldn't see it cross ice because there were so many bodies near the net. He just gave me a perfect pass and I had an open net to shoot at."

Biron made a number of big saves in the first overtime, denying Fedorov on a 2-on-1 rush less than three minutes into the session and using his right skate to stop defenseman Tom Poti from in front a minute later.

"It was my first time playing in an overtime game in the playoffs," Biron said. "It was a lot of fun. The pace of the game is so high and the stakes of the game are so high. ... Everything is just amped up to 10. You don't want to make any mistakes."