Laperriere Sparks The Flyers
(from the Philadelphia Inquirer)
By Sam Carchidi
Inquirer Staff Writer
January 24, 2010 - The Flyers needed a wake-up call. Ian Laperriere gave it to them.
With his fists.
For the second time in the last three games, Laperriere energized the Flyers with a fight as he helped them outlast the lowly Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2, at the Wachovia Center yesterday.
Just 45 seconds after the toothless Laperriere won his second fight of the afternoon - he pounded Tom Kostopoulos - Chris Pronger scored a power-play goal to snap a 1-1 second-period tie and send the Flyers to their third consecutive win on the six-game homestand.
"Lappy, being the guy he is, jumped in and tried to get some fire under us because we were pretty flat to start that period," said coach Peter Laviolette, whose team got an empty-net goal from Jeff Carter in the final second - 22 seconds after goalie Ray Emery prevented a tie by robbing Rod Brind'Amour in front. "For me, that was a turning point."
Carter notched his 20th and 21st goals and contributed an assist as the Flyers swept the four-game series from the Hurricanes for the first time since the franchise relocated from Hartford in 1997.
With the Flyers holding a 3-2 lead, Carolina had a six-on-four advantage thanks to a penalty and because it had pulled its goalie.
Brind'Amour took a cross from Eric Staal in front and had the tying goal on his stick, but Emery slid over from the left to right post and made the game's best save with 23 seconds left.
Before Laperriere's fight, the Flyers were in a slumber, having been outshot, 17-5, during a 23-minute stretch.
"We kind of hit a little bit of a lull, and then Lappy picked us back up, which he usually does," said left winger Dan Carcillo, who took the puck away from Joni Pitkanen and scored on a breakaway to give the Flyers an early 1-0 lead. "He got the offense rolling."
"A guy that has been around like him knows that a momentum change is needed," Pronger said. "Whether it's through a big hit or a fight or a blocked shot with his face, he's willing to do it. He's a consummate teammate."
Laperriere, whose right hand was bloodied in his fights, acknowledged he was trying to jump-start his team with the second one.
"It's part of my job," he said. "I thought we were soft. It was 1-1 and it could have been 3-1 or 4-1, and I felt it was the right time to do something."
With the score tied at 1, Carter won a draw from Matt Cullen and sent the puck off the boards to Pronger, who fired a shot from the high slot that sailed over the glove of goalie Cam Ward on the short side. Scott Hartnell set up a screen in front of Ward, who relieved Manny Legace early in the first period because the goalie was bothered by the lingering effects of pinkeye.
The Flyers made it 3-1 as Carter scored from the slot just 1 minute, 45 seconds after Pronger's goal.
With the Flyers holding a two-goal lead, a turnover by Emery enabled the Hurricanes to get within 3-2 with 18:39 left. The goalie tried to clear the puck behind his net, but his pass was intercepted by Sergei Samsonov, who found Brind'Amour in front. The former Flyer knocked the puck into the empty net.
Mike Richards fired wide on a penalty shot with 8:03 left, but Emery made several key stops down the stretch, including the game-saver on Brind'Amour.