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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers got to Dominik Hasek
early, and then they got to his head.
Mark Recchi scored the go-ahead goal and Roman Cechmanek made 25
saves as the Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Thursday night to
remain alive in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
|  | | Philly's John LeClair trips up Buffalo's Richard Smehlik during the second period, but was goalless again in Game 5. |
The Sabres lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 is Saturday
in Buffalo.
"We just bought ourselves a few more days," said Keith
Primeau, who had two assists.
Simon Gagne and Chris Therien also scored for Philadelphia,
which has never rallied from a 3-1 playoff deficit.
Dominik Hasek made 30 saves, but lost his temper midway through
the third period and earned a misconduct penalty.
Hasek slammed his pad to the ice in disgust after Primeau and
Sabres defenseman James Patrick collided into him, and drew a
10-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
"I didn't even try to make a save, because I know he's coming
out at my knees," Hasek said. "I was protecting myself. That's
why I was so upset."
"That's asinine," Primeau said.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff accused Primeau of using dirty tactics
all the time.
"He spins around, pretends he doesn't know where he's going and
bumps into the goalie, and tries to run right through him," Ruff
said. "I've seen that move before."
The Flyers took a 2-1 lead when Recchi blasted a shot past
Hasek's glove with 3:58 left in the second, one second before a
4-on-3 ended.
Recchi took a pass from Primeau in the slot, faked a shot,
skated slowly toward the net and fired a shot inside the near
goalpost.
"I shot it as hard as I could at his glove," said Recchi, who
had struggled early in the series. "They kept backing off, so I
kept walking in and they let me."
The Flyers took their first two-goal lead of the series 3:17
into the third period on Therien's second goal in 80 playoff games.
After Daymond Langkow won a faceoff, Therien gathered the puck at
the point and lifted it inside the far post.
It was the first time this season Hasek has allowed three or
more goals in four straight games.
"It was nothing fancy," Therien said. "I was just shooting it
at the net, trying to get it through."
Three seconds before the goal, Hasek tossed his glove and the
puck in the air after making a save, setting up the faceoff and
inciting the crowd. The chants of, "Hasek, Hasek" from the 19,681
fans at the First Union Center intensified in the third period.
Philadelphia scored first for the second time in the series on a
power-play goal by Gagne in the first period. Gagne one-timed a
centering pass from Primeau off Hasek's pad, got the rebound and
stuffed it by Hasek for his third goal of the playoffs.
"We know Hasek is pretty good on the first shot and we know he
is going to give a rebound," Gagne said. "We have to be ready to
get the rebound and that's what we did."
Maxim Afinogenov tied it at 1 with his first goal of the series
nine minutes into the second. Afinogenov took a lead pass from
Alexei Zhitnik, sped past defenseman Michal Sykora and blasted in a
shot from just inside the blue line.
Philadelphia appeared to have another goal 88 seconds later when
Therien's centering pass hit Dimitri Kalinin's skate and bounced
toward the net. But the referees ruled Hasek stopped the puck
before it crossed the goal line. Replays were inconclusive.
The Flyers celebrated another non-goal early in the game when
Recchi took a shot that got stuck in the side of the net.
Hasek made an incredible save on a back-hander by Jody Hull
while laying flat on his back, facing the net, early in the
second.
Game notes
The first four games of the series were decided by one
goal. ... Defenseman Andy Delmore, who scored the game-winner in
Game 3, was a healthy scratch as the Flyers skated just five
defensemen. ... John LeClair, a five-time 40-goal scorer, has just
one goal in the series. ... The five previous playoff series
between Buffalo and Philadelphia went five games.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Buffalo Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Sabres-Flyers Series Page
Shactman: No mistaking Flyers' identity
RECAPS
Philadelphia 3
Buffalo 1
St. Louis 3
San Jose 2
Dallas 4
Edmonton 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Simon Gagne stuffs home his own rebound for the goal and the 1-0 advantage.
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'Cable Modem
Maxim Afinogenov lets one rip and it goes past Roman Cechmanek.
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'Cable Modem
Mark Recchi has all day with the puck and finally fires it for a power-play goal.
avi: 893 k
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'Cable Modem
Dominik Hasek makes an incredible, yet controversial, save, much to the disbelief of the Philadelphia fans.
avi: 3779 k
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'Cable Modem
Keith Primeau comes crashing into Dominik Hasek, who argues the play and receives a 10-minute misconduct.
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'Cable Modem
 Mark Recchi joins ESPN's Steve Levy and Darren Pang following the victory.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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