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BUFFALO -- Ryan Miller has never been an easy target in goal for the Flyers. They had only beaten him eight times in regulation play over 21 games lifetime.
So it was likely a pipe dream to think they could chase him from net in less than seven minutes Wednesday night at First Niagara Center.
Dream big because thats what happened during the Flyers' narrow 3-2 victory over the Sabres in which they had to hang onto Ilya Bryzgalovs pads at the end.
Buffalo made it a one-goal game on a five-hole goal from rookie Luke Adam that deflected off Kimmo Timonens skate near the mid-point of the final period.
Bryzgalov rose from that, however, with a series of late saves, including a one-timer on Thomas Vanek in the final 15.3 that could have tied the game.
Unlike Miller, Bryzgalov was the ultimate difference with 29 saves.
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It was a really tough game for us, Bryzgalov said. We played a really good first period and then the second we turned over the puck and too many penalties.
The final 16 seconds of the game saw the Flyers on a penalty kill and Buffalo attacking with six players.
I just tried to stop the puck, Bryzgalov said of the Vanek shot. Every game is going to be the same thing.
As for Miller, the veteran gave up two goals just 13 seconds apart and was pulled for Jhonas Enroth at 6:23, trailing 3-0 on just 10 shots.
Rookie Sean Couturier, centering James van Riemsdyk and Jakub Voracek in this one, picked up his first point in six games with the Flyers' first goal at 1:43. Couturier ripped a rebound from the high slot into the net.
JVR then made it 2-0 with a laser from the left circle off the rush as the crowd let out a collective gasp. It was just the Flyers sixth shot of the game.
Incidentally, van Riemsdyk banged up his knee late in the game on a bad board hit from behind by Robyn Regehr as they were chasing down a puck.
Im fine, he said.
Anyway, those two goals were the all-time fastest by either team against the other.
Miller then had a tough save on Jaromir Jagr at the right post but on the next shift Scott Hartnell came up ice and shot almost from where JVR scored, making it 3-0. Thats when Sabres coach Lindy Ruff yanked Miller.
We were coming up the ice there and Claude Giroux was yelling at me to Skate, skate, skate, Hartnell said.
It looked like he was going to pass the puck to Jagr and at the last second he passed it to me. I had the lane down there and I was able to take the shot, which went over his glove.
Soon after, Ruff pulled Ville Leino off his line with Vanek and Jason Pominville and by the end of the period the fans let out some very loud boos.
That first five minutes was some of the best hockey we played so far, Hartnell said. We were fast, we were hitting, we were getting loose pucks.
The Flyers had 14 shots that period to Buffalos eight. Not much work for Bryzgalov, but he had several tough pad stops through screens as Buffalo scrambled to get back in the game.
The Bryz was ultra sharp that period. Despite some odd bouncesagainhe was the difference when the Flyers needed him.
They turned up the heat in the second and third period, coach Peter Laviolette said. There werent a lot of chances in the first. Just to stay sharp through that. I thought he did a good job just to stay focused.
Remember some of those odd goals off deflections and strange caroms that plagued the Flyers in recent weeks?
Well, it happened again at 7:49 of the second period when Andrej Sekeras 60-foot slapper took a bad carom off the back boards and rolled into the crease where it appeared Vanek tapped it in off Bryzgalov. The goal was credited to Sekera.
Some tough bounces on those goals but thats the way its been going so far, Laviolette said.
Right after that, Timonen took a tripping call and the games momentum had begun to swing Buffalos way, but Bryzgalov (four saves) and the Flyers' penalty kill units shut it down before the Sabres could make a charge.
Overall, it was gruesome period for Philadelphia. The Flyers were outshot 15-5 by the Sabres and spent much of the period sitting on their lead instead of attempting to add to it.
We got the lead and they got nothing to lose and they jumped into the play and we drew penalties and that was the biggest problem, Jagr said. They got the five power plays. Some guys were playing too much and some not at all.
When the horn sounded a scrum broke out along the boards between Braydon Coburn and Sabres defenseman Mike Weber. Weber was minus-2 at that point of the game and rather frustrated.
The third period saw both penalty boxes filled to the brim following scrums, but the Sabres ratcheted up their play to make a game of it.
They changed the game, Jagr said. They had nothing to lose. Theyre a very good hockey team. Its like a football game, youre up 21-0. Nobody thinks youre going to win the football game.
Its the same thing. Its 3-0 but you have to finish the game. Its not easy. You dont want to open it up but you dont want to play it safe, and they have a lot of good hockey players who can score goals.
It looked like we were playing defense all the time, but we finished strong.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.