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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Keith Primeau has emerged as the leader of
the Philadelphia Flyers, but the veteran center doesn't exactly
relish the role.
Primeau scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period to
help lead the Flyers to a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on
Saturday night.
"I know that I have to get myself in front of the net and
provide an opportunity to score," said Primeau, who also had two
assists. "But I feel a lot more comfortable when I can just go out
there and play and people don't rely on me."
His role has become increasingly important without Eric Lindros
and John LeClair. The team learned Saturday that LeClair is
expected to miss a minimum of another two months because of an
infection in his surgically repaired back.
Dan McGillis, Simon Gagne, and Daymond Langkow also scored for
the Flyers, who snapped a two-game losing streak and sent the
Panthers to their third straight defeat.
"I don't think that I have to be relied upon to score all the
time," said Primeau, who leads the Flyers with 19 goals, one more
than Gagne. "We have a lot of young guys in this locker room. When
there is a lot of emphasis on me, it can get us in trouble."
Pavel Bure scored twice and Viktor Kozlov had the other goal for
Florida.
With the Flyers trailing 2-1, Primeau scored his first goal 56
seconds into the period when he took a pass from Mark Recchi in the
corner and tipped the puck past the stick side of Florida
goaltender Trevor Kidd.
"Primeau has been a big support to our coaching staff ever
since I came in," said Bill Barber, who took over as coach of the
Flyers on Dec. 10. "Tonight, he came up very big again."
Primeau put the Flyers ahead 3-2 at 7:55 when he tucked in a
rebound of a shot from inside the right circle by McGillis.
"Primeau is a guy you can't let beat you," Florida coach Duane
Sutter said. "We worked to take away his stick, but we obviously
didn't do a good job. He has been a big presence for them lately
and certainly was tonight. He moves well in front of the net."
Gagne's slap shot from the left circle increased Philadelphia's
lead to 4-2 at 12:34.
Bure got the Panthers closer with his second goal of the night
on a scramble in front of the net 1:29 later.
Langkow scored an empty net goal with one second left.
Kidd had 41 saves as the Flyers registered a season-high 47
shots on goal.
"The Flyers seemed to be buzzing around the net all night,"
Kidd said. "They worked guys like Primeau and other big guys all
night and we had trouble clearing them out."
Roman Cechmanek stopped 27 shots for the Flyers as he snapped a
two-game losing streak.
The game was marred by a total of 68 penalty minutes, including
52 assessed in the second period when four players from each team
received fighting majors.
McGillis put the Flyers ahead 1-0 at 9:50 of the first when he
poked the puck behind Kidd after the Panthers' goalie failed to
smother a shot from the point by Ruslan Fedotenko.
Bure got the Panthers on the board with an unassisted
short-handed goal only 1:27 later after stripping Philadelphia's
Chris Therien of the puck deep in the Florida zone.
Bure's goal snapped a Florida scoreless streak spanning 135
minutes, 24 seconds. The Panthers had been shut out in consecutive
games by Buffalo and Chicago since Kozlov last scored with 3:07
left in a 2-0 win over Dallas on Jan. 14.
Kozlov made it 2-1 Florida with a power-play goal 2:45 into the
second, scoring with a slap shot through a screen from the left
circle.
Game notes
Bure's short-handed goal was the eighth against
Philadelphia this year, one more than the Flyers allowed all last
season. ... Florida is last in the Eastern Conference in scoring
with 100 goals. ... Bure leads Florida with 25 goals. No other
Panther has more than nine. ... The Flyers have won four straight
against the Panthers, including the last three played in
Philadelphia.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Leafs or nothing: Lindros willing to sit out season
LeClair to miss 6-8 more weeks with infection
RECAPS
New Jersey 3
Atlanta 2
Los Angeles 6
Carolina 3
Colorado 2
San Jose 1
NY Rangers 2
Montreal 2
Ottawa 3
Tampa Bay 0
Philadelphia 5
Florida 3
Toronto 2
Buffalo 0
St. Louis 3
Vancouver 0
Edmonton 2
Detroit 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mark Recchi finds Keith Primeau in front of the net for the game-tying goal.
avi: 1030 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Pavel Bure blocks a Flyers' shot and takes it in alone for a short-handed goal.
avi: 944 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Keith Primeau scores his second goal on a rebound of Dan McGillis' shot.
avi: 1210 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Viktor Kozlov squeezes the puck past Roman Cechmanek for a Florida power-play goal.
avi: 1340 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Flyers' Dan McGillis scores as the puck trickles through Trevor Kidd's legs.
avi: 1020 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Trevor Kidd uses the shaft of his stick to make a spectacular save against the Flyers.
avi: 1090 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Simon Gagne's one-timer puts the game out of reach.
avi: 865 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Keith Primeau talks with the National Hockey Night crew after the Flyers' victory over Florida.
wav: 610 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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