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  Sunday, Oct. 17 7:00pm ET
Flyers finally get first win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- In the seventh game of the season, the Flyers finally won.

Daymond Langkow
Philadelphia's Daymond Langkow, left, charges the net while trying unsuccessfully to get the puck past Buffalo goalie Dwayne Roloson.

Philadelphia overcame a second-period defensive lapse when it allowed two goals in a span of 1:17, by scoring three goals in the third period to defeat the winless Buffalo Sabres 5-2 Sunday night.

Eric Lindros and Valeri Zelepukin scored 21 seconds apart in the third period before Eric Desjardins netted his first goal of the year to end Philadelphia's franchise-worst 0-5-1 start.

Lindros was stoic but relieved afterward.

"We were playing some good hockey and not getting wins, for one reason or another it was not happening," said the Flyers captain, who before the season said this year was crucial for himself and the team. "Everything gets magnified because it is the start of the season.

"It is nice to get this win and move on," he added.

It wasn't as nice for the Sabres, who extended their winless streak to six games (0-4-2), their worst start since going 0-4-3 in 1990-91.

"Obviously it's frustrating right now, you got to worry," said Sabres captain Michael Peca, whose team lost the Stanley Cup finals last season to the Dallas Stars. "The results right now at this point in the season are unacceptable."

Lindros' goal, his third of the season, came as he sped down the ice on an odd-man rush and fired Mikael Renberg's pass through Sabres goalie Dwayne Roloson's legs to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead at 7:03 of the third period.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Zelepukin sent the crowd into a frenzy after one-timing Daymond Langkow's pass past a screened Roloson to give the Flyers a two-goal lead.

Philadelphia outshot Buffalo 34-15 to win a physical game that featured big saves by goalie John Vanbiesbrouck after a tough second-period stretch in which he allowed two even-strength goals. Entering Sunday's game, the Flyers were outscored 15-4 during even-strength situations.

The Sabres' Erik Rasmussen scored his first goal of the year to tie the game 4:16 into the second period, before Michal Grosek deflected James Patrick's shot past Vanbiesbrouck more than a minute later to give Buffalo a brief 2-1 lead.

John LeClair tied it at 10:48 of the second period with a power-play goal before the Flyers' three-goal outburst in the third.

"I felt a lot more confident when we scored three goals. I guess the most important thing is that we can smile and feel good for a couple of days," said Vanbiesbrouck, who made 13 saves.

Vanbiesbrouck said a physical first period set the tone for the rest of the game. The first 20 minutes featured two fights and lots of checking, to the delight of the crowd.

"The team played pretty well, but all of a sudden at the end of the third period, it went downhill," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.

Buffalo called a players-only meeting after the game.

"Anytime you don't win it is frustrating. Philly was frustrated too and we're a frustrated team," he added. "That's what happens when you lose."

Rookie Simon Gagne added his third goal of the year, on the power play, while Mark Recchi had three assists for the Flyers. Recchi has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his last five games.

"We were extremely, extremely emotional with our passion to want to win the hockey game," Vanbiesbrouck said. "I think the fans deserve that emotion and I think that if we play with that emotion most nights, we're going to win hockey games."
 


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