Flyers make historic comeback to blow away Hurricanes in a shootout

Hurricanes 5 - 6 Flyers (SO)

The Flyers produced their biggest comeback in 2o years and gained their first shootout success of the year, as they beat the Hurricanes 6-5 in a stunning game at the Wachovia Center.

A hat trick from Scott Hartnell and four unanswered goals in the third period, saw Philly tie the score with 1:44 left in regulation, having trailed 5-1 with just 19 minutes to go in the game.

After a scoreless overtime session, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards continued the team's momentum and produced in the shootout to give the Flyers their first shootout win in three attempts this season.

Carolina jumped out in front early, as center Eric Staal put the visitors ahead with barely a minute gone in the first period, before the Hurricanes doubled their advantage with Matt Cullen's goal two minutes into second.

Scott Hartnell reduced the deficit later in the period, after he tipped Jeff Carter's shot past replacement goaltender Michael Leighton, with the Flyers on the power play.

But barely ten seconds later, Carolina had restored their two goal lead, with Staal this time turning provider, as he set up Sergei Samsonov who fired past Philly's backup tender, Antero Niittymaki.

From here on in, it looked like it was going to be a rout, as power play goals from ex-Flyer Joni Pitkanen and a second from Staal, put the Flyers four goals behind with five minutes still remaining in the second.

Tempers flared as the hosts became frustrated, with Arron Asham picking up 15 minutes in the bin for instigating a fight, and it looked for all the world like Philly were dead and buried.

But it must have been one hell of a team talk from Coach John Stevens in the second interval, as the Flyers came out all guns blazing in the final period, playing as if their lives depended on it.

Less than two minutes in, Hartnell had his second of the night, with yet another shorthanded Flyers goal.

The winger was assisted for the second time by Carter (9th assist of the season) and Andrew Alberts, who got a second later in the period.

With plenty of time left in the game, Philly piled the pressure on the Hurricanes and within six minutes, Hartnell had completed the fourth hat trick of his NHL career, and the Flyers' first since Mike Knuble bagged a treble back in February.

At 5-3, the Flyers continued to push forward, but for a while the dream comeback looked like it would come up short, as shot after shot was kept out of Carolina's net by Leighton.

But with five minutes remaining Philly's pressure paid off, as Lasse Kukkonen's blocked shot rebounded to Scottie Upshall, and the winger made no mistake to pull the Flyers back within one.

Carried by a tidal wave of momentum, Gagne completed the most improbable of fight backs, as he collected a behind the net pass from Knuble and fired past a helpless Leighton, to bring the Flyers level for the first time since the opening minute.

Richards also nabbed an assist on the play, his ninth point in the last six games, taking his total to 20 assist and 31 points on the year.

Philly had out shot the Hurricanes 15-6 in the final period, however overtime was much more even.

Niittymaki, who was standing in for the rested Martin Biron, made up for the five he conceded in the first 35 minutes, by producing some big saves in the extra period to take the game to a shoot out.

The Fin also proved his worth in the shootout, saving both of Carolina's attempts, whilst Richards and Gagne made no mistake, giving the Flyers their third straight win and their fourth in five games.

This is the first time in the team's history that Philly have ever successfully overturned a four goal deficit at home, and the last time they did it was in an 11-6 win in Detroit way back in 1988, when again they had trailed 5-1.

More important for the Flyers though is the here and now, with the win securing a 3-1 series victory over their Eastern Conference rivals.

All four games have been played within the last month and the sides will now not meet again this season, unless it is in the playoffs.

Philly (15-7-6) also remain tied with Pittsburgh for second place in the Atlantic division and fifth seed in the conference, whilst Carolina retain the second spot in the South East despite being ninth in the conference.

The Flyers have the chance to go second outright in the division when they welcome their state rivals the Penguins on Saturday afternoon.

One thing's for sure: it is going to be tight, with both meetings between the teams so far this season having gone to overtime.

Add to that the fact that 14 of the Flyers 15 home games to this point have been decided by just one goal, and it looks like we will be in for yet another tense one.

It also promises to be feisty as there is definately no love lost between the two franchises.

Flyers hockey may give you the odd nervous breakdown, but it is never dull!

Whats up with Omar? Last year's breakout player seems to have stalled

So far in 2008, Eagles linebacker Omar Gaither has looked a shadow of the man who led the team in tackles and hurries last season.

Gaither spent most of last year in the middle linebacker spot following the departure of Jeremiah Trotter, and the 24-year-old exploded for a team high 102 tackles and 14 hurries, as well as ranking second in knockdowns (14).

This year however, the third year out of Tennessee has been moved back to his true position of (weak) outside linebacker in order to make way for Stewart Bradley, and he has struggled to have the same kind of impact.

Gaither has just 54 tackles on the season, barely half of his total last year, but he has 2.5 sacks which is an improvement on the 0 he picked up in 2007.

A drop in stats is inevitable when moving from middle to weakside backer, especially when teams have traditionally loved to try and run right throught the heart of the Eagles defence.

However Gaither appears to have lost the confidence of defensive co-ordinator Jim Johnson, who has benched him for the last three games in favour of Akeem Jordan.

Jordan has done his bit for the team since replacing Gaither, making a total of 20 tackles in the loss against Baltimore and the two huge wins over Arizona and the Giants.

Why Gaither has struggled at outside backer is unclear, but it seems that he is having trouble readjusting to his new role within the team, after establishing himself last year on the inside of the linebacking core.

Whatever the reason, Gaither needs to get himself back in the groove quickly if he wants to become a permanent fixture in the line-up.

A move back to middle linebacker looks extremely doubtful with the numbers that Bradley is posting, as he is just one tackle behind the league leader, with 90 tackles from 13 games.

Therefore, the man from Charlotte is going to have to get used to it and fight harder than ever to win back his place, as this guy is too talented to be warming the bench!

Phillies pitching links hot up + Hamels lays into Mets

With the Phillies no closer to resigning free agent pitcher Jamie Moyer, the rumours about a possible replacement are now hotting up, with GM Ruben Amaro Jr. admitting he is interested in former Dodgers starter Derek Lowe.

The righty is believed to be looking for a five year $80 million deal, and the Phillies are now the front runners in the race to sign him, after the Yankees shelled out a massive $160 million on top pitching free agent C.C. Sabathia.

That move could push Lowe's price up slightly, as he and former Toronto star A.J. Burnett are now the top two pitchers left on the market.

The 35-year-old has become well known as a durable pitcher with a great sinkerball, and a good postseason record.

Lowe has a 3.33 career ERA in the postseason, and he gave up just four runs in a perfect 3-0 playoff run for the Red Sox in 2004, when they won the World Series.

Last season he had a record of 14-11 in the Dodgers' rotation, but these stats would have been better had the Dodgers had any offence earlier in the season, before the late trade for Manny Ramirez.

A deal for Lowe would make Moyer's return less likely, although the Phillies could still do with another pitcher to add to their rotation, as behind ace Cole Hamels the only vaguely consistent pitcher is Joe Blanton.

You never know what you are going to get with Brett Myers and Kyle Kendrick faded badly at the back end of last year.

Moyer could still fill a spot in the rotation even if Lowe does sign, however very little progress has been made in terms of resigning the lefty since he filed for free agency.

At least the two parties are talking though and Philly have stated they want to bring Moyer back, which is more than can be said for the Phillies and left fielder Pat Burrell.

So far the management team have not even been in contact with Burrell, increasing the speculation that they are determined to look elsewhere to find the outfielder they desire.

If they do, then Philly are likely to try and find a right-handed batter to offset the mass of lefty hitters in the middle of their lineup.

Going back to pitchers, the word is going around that the team are on the verge of signing unattached right-hander Chan Ho Park, another former Dodger, to act as a middle-inning reliever and an occasional starter.

The 35-year-old South Korean was a regular starter at the turn of the century, but has been used more and more sparingly in that role over the last few years.

He has some reasonable stats last year, picking up a 4-4 record with five starts and an ERA of 3.40 for LA, but if the deal is done it will be interesting to see how he copes in a hitter-friendly ballpark.

Speaking of pitchers or rather pitchers speaking, ace Cole Hamels is in the process of becoming a true Phillies legend, after the World Series MVP laid into the rival Mets on a New York radio station.

In a truly gutsy interview in enemy territory trying to promote the Phillies' World Series DVD, Hamels slated the Mets and labeled them "choke artists" in the wake of their failure to make the playoffs the last two years.

Both times the Mets were seen as the class of the NL East, but both times they faded late in the season having led the division the majority of the way, allowing the Phillies to take back-to-back division titles.

Hamels said he would continue to see New York's 'other team' as choke artists until they prove otherwise, and then proceeded to attack Mets short stop Jose Reyes.

The starter suggested Reyes is a show-boater because of his finger-pointing home run celebration, acting like his hit has won the game, even if it is only come a few innings in.

The lefty also stated that he and the rest of the Phillies had had a go at teammate Shane Victorino, when he used a similar celebration after hitting a grand slam off the then Brewers pitcher C.C. Sabathia, in this year's NLDS.

It is great to see a young star standing up and criticising show-boating, in an age where massive salaries and massive egos are threatening to turn baseball into a soap opera.