Flyers at a Loss Against Ducks

Let’s go, Flyers.

Right. Sure. Whatever.

The NHL’s hottest team came to the Arrowhead Pond looking for another tomato can to punch out on the way to a June date at the Stanley Cup finals. Let the record show that it was the Flyers who were knocked around by the Mighty Ducks, 5-4, before an announced crowd of 16,357 on Wednesday.

Right wing Teemu Selanne scored two goals and added an assist for his 600th NHL point and defenseman Fredrik Olausson added two goals as the Ducks won their fourth consecutive game.

Center Steve Rucchin also scored the Ducks.

The loss was only the third for the Flyers since Dec. 10.

Wednesday’s game certainly won’t go down as the Flyers’ best showing of the season, but the Ducks’ speed certainly had something to do with that.

Some standout penalty killing in the final eight minutes also helped the Ducks preserve the victory over the Flyers, who were 16-1-7 in their last 24 games before Wednesday’s game.

Center Matt Cullen took a holding the stick penalty at 11:47 of the third period. Defenseman Jamie Pushor then was whistled for a double minor for high sticking Philadelphia’s Valeri Zelepukin at 12:29, giving the Flyers a two-man advantage for 1:18.

But Philadelphia generated little offense and was unable to trim the Ducks’ 5-3 lead. Later, Eric Lindros scored the second of his two goals to cut the deficit to 5-4 and extend his point streak to 14 games.

The Ducks managed to slow the Flyers’ top line of Lindros, John LeClair and Keith Jones. LeClair and Daymond Langkow also scored for the Flyers.

Three goals is a big game for most lines in the NHL. But somehow the Flyers’ big line failed to inspire much passion Wednesday, skating without their usual effectiveness.

The Flyers snoozed through the game’s first 30 minutes, doing a pretty fair imitation of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This, of course, disappointed the legion of Philly transplants who jammed the Pond hoping to see the Flyers extend their unbeaten streak to nine in a row with a victory over the Ducks.

The Ducks didn’t give the Flyers much to work with, however.

Then again, Philadelphia did all it could to help the Ducks to a 2-0 lead only 8:58 into the game.

First, Philadelphia defenseman Dan McGillis took a cross-checking penalty against McInnis. Selanne made the Flyers pay with a power-play goal at 7:25 for a 1-0 Duck lead.

Next, the Flyers lost track of Olausson, who sent a missile from the right point past goalie John Vanbiesbrouck at 8:58. Olausson’s second goal brought a goalie change--Ron Hextall replacing Vanbiesbrouck at 6:16 of the third period.

A dubious double minor for high sticking to Cullen early in the second period seemed to be just the thing to snap Philadelphia from its funk.

Wrong.

The Flyers didn’t manage a shot on net during their four minutes with the man advantage.

Finally, with Duck defenseman Jason Marshall off for roughing Jones, Langkow scored a power-play goal to cut the Flyer deficit to 2-1 at 11:03.

Selanne countered with his second of the game, a power-play goal at 13:37. But Lindros finally showed himself, hammering a one-timer into the net for a power-play goal at 15:46.

Lindros’ can often inflict great bodily injury to opponents--figuratively and literally. Add LeClair to the mix and the results can be awesome for the Flyers’ Legion of Doom line.

But it was the lesser lights such as Langkow, Jones and McGillis who kept the Flyers close when it appeared the Ducks might run away and hide with a 2-0 lead in the first period.

About the only time anyone noticed Lindros in the first period was when Marshall slammed him against the glass with a rough but legal check. LeClair seemed to be skating in circles, headed nowhere in particular.

There was more of the same for Philadelphia in the first 10 minutes of the second period, when they managed one shot on net. But the Flyers got rolling soon enough and they headed into the third period trailing by only 3-2.

*

Phoenix 3

Kings 0

L.A. falls six points out of playoff race after another road loss. Page 5