| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Bill Houlder is helping the Nashville Predators battle through tough times.
|  | | Simon Gagne of the Flyers, left, and Patric Kjellberg battle for a loose puck on the ice. |
The veteran defenseman scored the tying goal just 39 seconds after Keith Primeau put the Flyers ahead, and the Predators came from behind twice to tie the Philadelphia Flyers 2-2 Tuesday night.
"It's nice, obviously, to respond so quickly to getting down like that," Houlder said. "We're trying to get the concept now that being one goal down is not the end of the world. It's not over."
Houlder's slap shot from the top of the left circle went between the pads of Philadelphia goalie Roman Cechmanek at 8:06 of the third period. It was his second goal of the season, but a timely one for a team that was shut out four times in its last 10 games.
"I'd love to be able to take credit and say tonight I thought
I'd really step it up offensively, but I don't think I'm at quite
that stage of my career where I can call my own shot," Houlder
said. "I think we need to do what any team does when they're
struggling to score goals -- fire on the net and crash the net.
Usually that answers a lot of problems."
Primeau stick-handled around Predators defensemen Cale Hulse and Karlis Skrastins and goalie Tomas Vokoun to score an unassisted
goal at 7:27. The puck slipped behind Vokoun against rested against
the right post when Primeau tapped it over the goal line for a 2-1
Flyers lead.
"I got the turnover in the neutral zone. They went for a line change," Primeau said. "There wasn't a lot of room in the neutral zone all night. That's the reason I tried the defenseman one-on-one."
Nashville is 1-4-1 in its last six. Philadelphia moved to 1-0-1 under new head coach Bill Barber.
Primeau has already noticed the change.
"I thought our defense were a lot more assertive tonight," he said. "They went back with authority, and they're turning the puck up."
On a Flyers power play late in regulation, Vokoun stopped Mark Recchi and Primeau hit the left post. Vokoun also made a glove save on Kent Manderville 1:33 into overtime.
Nashville's Scott Walker tied it 1-1 with a short-handed goal at 19:27 of the second period. Walker scored from the right circle on
a 2-on-1 with Tom Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald skated up the left wing and slid a cross-ice pass to Walker, who fired it into the open
right side of the Flyers net before Cechmanek could dive back into position.
The goal was Walker's seventh of the season and his second in
two games. Five of his 39 career goals have been short-handed.
Todd Fedoruk, recalled from the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms on
Monday, scored from the left circle to put the Flyers on top 5:32
into the game. Fedoruk beat Vokoun to the near post as center Ruslan Fedotenko and a Nashville defenseman collided with Vokoun in the crease.
"I really don't have anything to gain by pushing my goalie out
of the net," Houlder said.
An apparent second Flyers goal by Simon Gagne later in the
opening period was nullified when Philadelphia's Justin Williams
was called for a penalty.
"It was a good game," Barber said. "Give them some credit, too. Their defense jumped up the ice at the right time and to be
honest, we didn't get a lot of good breaks. The bottom line is I'm
very pleased with how we played."
Game notes
The game was telecast on ESPN2 as the featured game of NHL Rules!, the first time in the Predators' three-year history the network has aired one of their
home games. ... Entering play, the Flyers were the NHL's least-penalized team and the Predators were second. ... Over the last two weeks, Nashville established a season-high three-game winning streak and a season-high four-game losing streak. ... Flyers RW John LeClair (back spasms) did not make the trip and has been placed on injured reserve. LeClair, who played in all 82 Flyers regular-season games four of the last five years, has appeared in just eight of the club's 30 games this season. ... The Predators reassigned LW Ville Peltonen to Milwaukee (IHL) after he cleared waivers. Peltonen had three goals in 23 games with Nashville.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Nashville Clubhouse
RECAPS
Buffalo 3
Boston 0
Philadelphia 2
Nashville 2
Washington 3
NY Islanders 2
San Jose 3
NY Rangers 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Keith Primeau is a one-man wrecking crew as he goes through the Predators for this goal.
avi: 1151 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Scott Walker takes the feed from Tom Fitzgerald and scores the short-handed goal.
avi: 1293 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Dan McGillis sets up Todd Fedoruk for the one-timer past Tomas Vokoun.
avi: 1530 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Bill Houlder rips the shot past Roman Cechmanek.
avi: 551 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 The Flyers' Keith Primeau talks with the ESPN crew about the coaching change in Philly.
wav: 259 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
