Danny Briere scored on a rebound with 3:38 left to lift Philadelphia to a 4-2 victory over Montreal on Wednesday and a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Flyers, the worst team in the NHL last season, can eliminate the top-seeded Canadiens in Game 5 tomorrow night in Montreal.
Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koviu scored 37 seconds apart late in the third period to bring Montreal into a 2-2 tie.
PHOTO: AFP
Briere’s eighth goal of the postseason gave the Flyers the lead and R.J. Umberger scored into an empty net in the final seconds, his second goal of the game.
Martin Biron was strong again in goal for the Flyers except for that one minute in the third period.
Sharks 2, Stars 1
At Dallas, Milan Michalek scored San Jose’s first power-play goal of the series with 16:34 left and San Jose beat beat Dallas to avoid being swept in the Western Conference semi-finals.
The Sharks were 0-for-4 on power plays in Game 4 before getting another chance early in the third period when Mike Modano drew a delay of game penalty for knocking a puck into the stands. Brian Campbell made a cross-ice pass to Joe Thornton, who then pushed the puck back to the front of the net, through the legs of Jonathan Cheehoo and onto Michalek’s stick.
Sharks captain Patrick Marleau had tied the game with another short-handed goal, getting one after a turnover by Sergei Zubov for the second game in a row.
Game 5 is on tonight in San Jose, where the Stars won the first two games of the series.
The visiting team has won 14 of the past 18 games between the Pacific Division rivals.
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