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Saturday, Dec. 18 7:00pm ET
LeClair leads Flyers with 2 goals | |||||
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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Brian Boucher's first NHL shutout came as no surprise to high-scoring Philadelphia teammate John LeClair. Boucher made 29 saves and LeClair scored two goals as the Flyers beat Tampa Bay 4-0 to extend the NHL's longest current home unbeaten string to 11 games Saturday night. "Boucher had a strong game, but he's been playing well for us all year," said LeClair, who leads the Flyers with 18 goals. "We played the majority of the first period in our own end, and Brian played really great." "Brian did a good job with the rebounds tonight," added Philadelphia coach Roger Neilson. "Every game, he looks a little more at home." Ulf Samuelsson and Marc Bureau also scored to help the Flyers improve to 10-0-1 in their last 11 home games. Philadelphia is 19-5-3 in its last 27 games following a a franchise-worst 0-5-1 start. Flyers captain Eric Lindros returned to the lineup after missing two games because of a badly bruised left hand. He had two assists. Boucher, who had won five straight starts before losing 3-1 in Buffalo on Tuesday night, stopped a flurry of shots late in the first period, and made a glove save on Robert Petrovicky's close-range shot in the second. "My confidence wasn't shaken after that Buffalo game," the rookie goalie said. "I know I screwed up, but you shake it off and come back real strong. With every game, I've gotten real comfortable. I've gotten to know the guys a little more and have been able to be myself." Tampa Bay goalie Dan Cloutier was replaced by Kevin Hodson after allowing one goal on five shots in the first seven minutes. Cloutier, who was yanked after surrendering three goals on eight shots in his last start against Nashville on Thursday night, angrily slammed his stick against the wall of the runway leading to the locker room after being lifted Saturday. "He (Cloutier) bobbled about three shots from the outside and that was an awful goal," Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik said. "That first goal, the slap shot, had no business going in. Then one shot went through his legs and went wide." Samuelsson, who missed the last four games because of a sprained left shoulder, scored his first goal of the season at 4:30 of the first period with a slap shot that went between Cloutier's legs. LeClair made it 2-0 at 15:59 of the second period when he picked off a Tampa Bay pass at the top of the slot and rifled a slap shot past Hodson's stick side. LeClair made it 3-0 off a rebound on a power-play at 10:42 of the third period. Forty-one seconds later, Bureau added his first goal of the season. "We thought we played well in the first two periods," Tampa Bay's Stephen Guolla said. "After we held them off on that five-on-three power play in the second, I thought we had some momentum. But the whole game changed when LeClair got that third goal." Tampa Bay, which entered the game with a four-game unbeaten streak, is 3-10-2 on the road. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Tampa Bay Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS Calgary 2 Ottawa 1
Philadelphia 4
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