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PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Roman Cechmanek had no trouble staying awake
in this game.
Cechmanek got standing ovations for his play, and Dan McGillis
scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period as the
Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday.
Kent Manderville also scored for Philadelphia, which has won
five of six games. The Rangers, who got a goal from Radek Dvorak,
fell to 1-6-1 this month.
"I felt good. I was awake the whole time," Cechmanek said.
After making 15 saves and registering his league-leading
ninth-shutout in a 3-0 victory over Minnesota on Thursday,
Cechmanek joked that he fell asleep during the game from lack of
activity.
He didn't have a chance to catch up on his nap time as the
Rangers took 31 shots, including six point-blank opportunities in
the third period.
"You talk about your goaltender making the saves he has to
make. Unfortunately, he had to make saves he shouldn't have made,"
Keith Primeau said.
After failing to score on their first four power plays against
the team with the league's worst penalty-killing unit on the road,
the Flyers capitalized on their fifth. McGillis took a shot from
the left circle that deflected off the skate of Rangers defenseman
Kim Johnsson and trickled between the feet of goalie Guy Hebert for
a 2-1 lead with 22 seconds left in the second period.
Hebert made 18 saves in two periods, but was replaced by Kirk
McLean at the start of the third after straining his groin.
Cechmanek, one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season,
improved to 32-11-5 and lowered his goals-against average to 1.98
with a spectacular display. He is 18-2-2 when he faces 27 or more
shots.
The 29-year-old first-year player made a sprawling pad save on
Jan Hlavac following a 2-on-1 breakaway early in the third, then
made a nice stick save on Brian Leetch minutes later.
"I saw the two Czechs (Hlavac and Petr Nedved) coming and I
waited until the last second," Cechmanek said.
Cechmanek electrified the sellout crowd by stopping the Rangers
on three consecutive 2-on-1 breakaways midway through the period.
He stoned Nedved, Valeri Kamensky and Mark Messier, and received
two standing ovations in the process.
"He was awesome the whole game," Rangers coach Ron Low said.
"He was the difference in the game."
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Dvorak's 24th goal, just 3:27
into the game. Dvorak's wrist shot from the left circle hit
Cechmanek's shoulder, glanced off the post, bounced off Cechmanek's
back and went in the net.
It was New York's first shot of the game, and only reason to
celebrate.
"Cechmanek is no fluke," Leetch said. "He's done this all
year."
Manderville tied it 97 seconds later by directing a rebound of a
shot from Michal Sykora. It was Manderville's second goal in three
games. He went 122 games without a goal before scoring against
Pittsburgh on Feb. 7.
"Your goaltender is your best penalty killer, your best guy
defensively in odd-man rushes, he carries a lot of the load,"
Flyers coach Bill Barber said. "I admired the way he played."
Game notes
Cechmanek's 32 victories are the most by a Flyers
goaltender since Ron Hextall won 37 in 1986-87. .... Philadelphia
captain Eric Desjardins returned to the lineup after missing two
games with a concussion. ... Flyers forwards Simon Gagne
(shoulder), Justin Williams (hand) and Daymond Langkow (foot)
remained out with injuries. ... Mark Recchi has at least one point
in 10 straight games. ... Dvorak has played in 258 games, the
third-longest streak in the NHL. ... The Rangers fell to 25-20-4 in
games in which either Dvorak, Nedved or Hlavac score a goal. ...
McGillis tied his career-high with his 45th point on the
second-period goal. He had 45 points in 1998-99. ... Rick Tocchet
played his 600th game with the Flyers. ... The Rangers fell to
2-11-3 in the Atlantic Division, the worst division record of any
team in the league.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
NY Rangers Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
RECAPS
Colorado 5
Detroit 3
Los Angeles 1
San Jose 0
Philadelphia 2
NY Rangers 1
Toronto 5
Florida 3
Boston 3
Montreal 2
Buffalo 3
Washington 2
NY Islanders 3
Columbus 3
Tampa Bay 5
Pittsburgh 1
Nashville 4
Phoenix 1
St. Louis 2
Calgary 2
New Jersey 6
Edmonton 5
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Radek Dvorak rips the puck into the back of the net against the Flyers.
avi: 1219 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kent Manderville knocks the puck past Guy Hebert.
avi: 1204 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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