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PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia Flyers are doing just fine
without Eric Lindros -- for one game at least.
Eric Desjardins scored two goals, including the game-winner, and
rookie Justin Williams added a goal and two assists as the Flyers
began the post-Lindros Era with a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver
Canucks on Thursday night.
|  | | Matt Cooke's short-handed goal managed to get past Flyers goalie Brian Boucher. |
"Eric had been in and out of the lineup before. It's nothing
new," said John LeClair, Lindros' linemate since joining the
Flyers in 1995.
It was the first time in nine seasons the Flyers played a home
opener without Lindros.
After a long and bitter feud, Lindros rejected the team's $8.5
million qualifying offer in the offseason, and is a restricted free
agent. He's recovering at home in Canada from his sixth concussion.
LeClair said he didn't think about Lindros at any time while on
the ice.
"How could you?" he said.
Desjardins, a defenseman who replaced Lindros as the team
captain last March, made it 4-3 with a power-play goal with 1.3
seconds left in the second period.
Williams, playing his first NHL game, sent a pass from behind
the net to Mark Recchi at the point. Recchi crossed it to
Desjardins, who lifted a shot past Felix Potvin for the decisive
goal.
Desjardins added another power-play goal that made it 5-3 with
3:13 left.
"It's certainly not the kind of hockey we want to play all
season," Desjardins said about the wide-open style. "The new
rules change the game a little bit. You can't hold like you used
to, so it's going to be a little open."
Williams, who turned 19 on Wednesday, gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead
on his first shot just 3:14 in.
The speedy right wing was expected to start the season in
juniors after the Flyers selected him in the first round of the
June draft. Instead, he earned a spot on the top line with LeClair
and Keith Primeau after an impressive training camp.
"I feel I'm under the eye, always being watched and
evaluated," Williams said. "I have to keep improving."
Vancouver scored a pair of short-handed goals in less than three
minutes to take a 2-1 lead in the first.
Matt Cooke stripped Desjardins, and beat Brian Boucher with a
wrist shot to tie it at 1 midway through the period. Peter Schaefer
scored just 2:48 later by completing a 2-on-1 break.
"We have to get better in a lot of areas," Vancouver coach
Marc Crawford said. "We have to have a little bit more discipline
in our game."
Philadelphia tied it at 2 on a goal by Petr Hubacek, another
rookie playing his first game. Hubacek one-timed a behind-the-net
pass from Rick Tocchet 3:18 into the second.
"They have good support, they were quick and they did things
that we hoped they would do," Flyers coach Craig Ramsay said of
his rookies.
LeClair gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead by backhanding a rebound off
a shot from Recchi 5:01 into the second.
Boucher stopped 26 shots to record the victory. Potvin made 27
saves.
Philadelphia got within one game of reaching the Stanley Cup
finals last season even though Lindros missed the last 14 games of
the regular season and all but the final two games of the playoffs.
"Eric is a great player and they probably miss him a lot,"
Schaefer said. "But they are still a very deep team without him
and they showed it tonight."
Game notes
Vancouver's Markus Naslund tied it at 3 on a breakaway goal
with 5:50 left in the second. ... Daymond Langkow scored an
empty-net goal with 14.1 seconds left. ... Hubacek, selected in the
ninth round of the 1998 draft (243rd overall), is the lowest Flyers
draft pick to play for the team. ... Vancouver's Sedin twins,
Daniel and Henrik, made their NHL debut, and became the fourth set
of twins to play in the league. The last were Rich and Ron Sutter,
who debuted with the Flyers in 1983. ... Philadelphia defenseman
Dan McGillis played in his 300th NHL game. ... LeClair had one goal
and one assist, and has 499 points with the Flyers.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Philadelphia Clubhouse
RECAPS
Ottawa 4
Boston 4
Buffalo 4
Chicago 2
Philadelphia 6
Vancouver 3
Detroit 4
Calgary 3
Phoenix 4
St. Louis 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 John LeClair fires the power-play goal past Felix Potvin.
avi: 960 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Justin Williams scores his first career goal.
avi: 1107 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Matt Cooke steals the puck from Eric Desjardins and scores a short-handed goal.
avi: 1225 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Peter Schaefer scores Vancouver's second short-handed goal of the game.
avi: 1163 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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