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With Buffalo Sabres center Tim Connolly behind him, Philadelphia Flyers left wing Simon Gagne moves the puck up ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday in Philadelphia.
AP PHOTO
PHILADELPHIA — Jeff Carter scored two goals in the third period, Scott Hartnell also had a pair and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Martin Biron made 27 saves and Mike Richards added a power-play goal for the Flyers, who strengthened their hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference with their second straight win and eighth in 12 games.
Maxim Afinogenov and Jochen Hecht scored for Buffalo, which is locked in a tight race for a playoff berth. The Sabres are 10th in the East, but came in only three points out of a playoff spot and four points out of fifth.
Carter and Joffrey Lupul combined for two goals during a span of 6:17 in which the Flyers scored three times to snap a 1-all tie.
The Flyers carried momentum from a fast-paced second period into the final frame. Just 27 seconds in, Lupul found Carter streaking toward the net and put a perfect pass on his stick. Carter slid a shot past Patrick Lalime for a 2-1 lead.
A few minutes later, Richards redirected Kimmo Timonen’s slap shot for his 26th goal.
Then, Carter and Lupul did it again on a 2-on-2 breakaway. Lupul skated in from the blue line and slid a pass through two defenders to Carter, who beat Lalime for his 38th goal.
Lalime was replaced by Mikael Tellqvist after giving up the goal. Lalime made his seventh straight start filling in for Ryan Miller, who is out indefinitely with a high left ankle sprain.
Hartnell scored his second goal when the puck bounced off his chest and went in late in third.
The Flyers again were without center Daniel Briere, who sat out his second straight game after aggravating a groin injury last week. Briere has missed 53 games in his second season since signing a $52 million, eight-year contract with Philadelphia. He practiced Monday and was hoping to play against his former team.
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead on Afinogenov’s goal just 1:52 in. Teppo Numminen’s shot from along the boards deflected off Afinogenov’s left skate and bounced over Biron’s shoulder.
Afinogenov had a chance at another goal later in the period, but Biron gloved his point-blank one-timer.
Hartnell’s power-play goal with 12 seconds left in the first tied it at 1. Claude Giroux set it up with a nifty cross-ice pass.
Devils 3, Flames 2
NEWARK, N.J. — Martin Brodeur moved within two wins of tying Patrick Roy’s NHL career record, making 35 saves in the New Jersey Devils’ victory over the Calgary Flames.
Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston and Zach Parise scored and the Devils killed off six of seven power plays in helping Brodeur post victory No. 549. New Jersey tied the franchise record with its eighth straight home victory.
Brodeur, a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, could tie Roy’s mark in his native Montreal on Saturday, provided he and the Devils beat Phoenix at home on Thursday.
Calgary newcomer Olli Jokinen’s third goal in four games could not prevent the Flames from losing their third straight game. Curtis Glencross scored with less than a second to play for the final goal. It came on the Flames’ final power play.
The Devils earned their 10th win in 13 games, avoiding their first losing streak in more than two months.
Coming off an embarrassing 7-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday, the Devils played an awful first period and fell behind when Jokinen tallied his 24th goal of the season on a nice cross-ice pass by Michael Cammalleri midway through the period.
Defenseman Dion Phaneuf came close to making it 2-0 early in the second period, but Brodeur pushed the slap shot from between the circles just wide of the net.
Blue Jackets 2, Bruins 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Steve Mason earned his NHL-best ninth shutout of the season, stopping 35 shots and making Raffi Torres’ third-period goal stand up in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ win over the Boston Bruins.
Torres broke the scoreless deadlock 6:35 into the period, and Rick Nash scored a seeing-eye, empty-net goal in the final minute to clinch the win.
The Bruins came in leading the Presidents’ Trophy race with 95 points, one more than San Jose and Detroit. The Blue Jackets entered in sixth place in the Western Conference with 72 points, but eight teams are within six points in the race for the bottom three playoff positions.
Red Wings 3, Coyotes 2
DETROIT — Johan Franzen’s goal 3:35 into overtime gave the Detroit Red Wings a win over the Phoenix Coyotes.
Franzen skated across the high slot and beat Ilya Bryzgalov for his 27th goal.
Valtteri Filppula had a goal and an assist, and Brian Rafalski also scored for the Red Wings. Franzen added an assist on Filppula’s goal, and Ty Conklin made 23 saves.
Martin Hanzal and Shane Doan scored for Phoenix, which has lost six of seven. Bryzgalov stopped 40 shots.
Doan’s power-play goal with 8:09 left made it 2-2. His seventh goal came on a screened wrist shot from the point.
Maple Leafs 3, Islanders 2
TORONTO — Mikhail Grabovski’s first goal in 18 games gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a victory over the New York Islanders.
The Islanders blew a chance to clear the puck from their zone and, after two teammates had whacks at the puck, Grabovski fired the puck in from the middle of the zone 50 seconds into overtime. The shot beat goalie Joey MacDonald, who was out of position after making a save.
Lee Stempniak and Alexei Ponikarovsky also scored for the Leafs.