Richards, Carter, Giroux score 2; Flyers snap skid
AP News | 2009-12-09 02:14:15
<div id="subtitle">Richards, Carter, and Giroux all score 2 goals; Flyers snap skid with rout of Islanders</div><div><p>Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux scored two goals apiece, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders 6-2 on Tuesday night for their first win under new coach Peter Laviolette.</p><p>Brian Boucher, taking over No. 1 goalie duties from injured Ray Emery, made 22 saves for the Flyers, who broke a five-game losing streak. Philadelphia has won 12 in a row and 15 of 16 against the Islanders, dating to the 2007-08 season.</p><p>The Flyers had dropped two consecutive games — including an 8-2 home loss to Washington on Saturday — after Laviolette replaced fired coach John Stevens on Friday.</p><p>Islanders rookie John Tavares scored both goals for New York, which dropped its second straight and slipped into a last-place tie with the Flyers in the Atlantic Division.</p><p>Richards' first goal came on a power play, and snapped a five-game, 0 for 19 stretch with the man advantage for the Flyers. Richards deflected Kimmo Timonen's slap shot past goalie Martin Biron, who spent the previous three seasons with Philadelphia.</p><p>Just 6 minutes later, Richards scored the first short-handed goal allowed by the Islanders this season. The Flyers captain stripped the puck from defenseman Mark Streit and flicked it past Biron's stick side during a breakaway.</p><p>Carter netted the next two goals to push the Flyers' lead to 4-0. Danny Briere fed him a pass on the left goal line, and Carter angled a wrist shot past Biron. His second goal came on a rebound in front of a crowded net.</p><p>Tavares tried to rally the Islanders with a pair of power-play goals that cut New York's deficit in half. His first was scored at 10:52. He made it 4-2 with his 13th this season, scored at 14:55.</p><p>Philadelphia nearly let New York back in it by taking five penalties in the second period. The Flyers pushed their lead to 5-2 on Giroux's first of the night with 2:31 left in the second.</p><p>The Flyers (14-13-1) were 12-5 on Nov. 18, but their slump led to Stevens' dismissal. Philadelphia held a 37-24 shots advantage, one night after they had a 15-13 edge at Montreal in a 3-1 loss to the Canadiens.</p><p>NOTES: Boucher is expected to get the bulk of the work in goal for the Flyers while Emery his out. Emery will have surgery Wednesday to repair a torn abdominal muscle. ... Islanders D Brendan Witt was in the lineup despite being hit by a car while crossing a Philadelphia street in the morning. ... Laviolette's first NHL head coaching job was with the Islanders from 2001-03.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=65062008&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>
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