Philadelphia Remains In Control

NHL playoffs

Led by Paul Coffey’s three first-period assists, the Philadelphia Flyers moved to the brink of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night with a 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Philadelphia.

In taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series, the Flyers put the Sabres in a precarious spot: Only two teams in Stanley Cup playoff history - the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders - have come back to win a series after losing the first three games.

The Flyers have won all seven playoff series in which they have taken a 3-0 lead.

Philadelphia got goals from Eric Lindros, Rod Brind’Amour, Eric Desjardins and Dale Hawerchuk, the former Sabre who also had two assists.

Garth Snow made 15 saves to improve his record in the playoffs to 7-1.

Darryl Shannon scored for the Sabres, who got 35 saves from Steve Shields.

Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek, a leading candidate for NHL MVP honors this season, is eligible to return for Game 4 from a three-game suspension for an altercation with a reporter. But Hasek is nursing a sore knee and his status for Friday is uncertain. Game 4 will be in Philadelphia.

While the Flyers scored two power-play goals, the Sabres went 1 for 7 on the power play, making them 2 for 15 for the series.

Flyers 4, Sabres 1

Buffalo 1 0 0 - 1

Philadelphia 3 0 1 - 4

First period-1, Philadelphia, Lindros 4 (Coffey, Hawerchuk), 8:18 (pp). 2, Philadelphia, Hawerchuk 1 (Coffey, Snow), 11:51 (pp). 3, Buffalo, Shannon 2 (Holzinger, Plante), 14:55 (pp). 4, Philadelphia, Brind’Amour 6 (Hawerchuk, Coffey), 18:57.

Second period-None.

Third period-5, Philadelphia, Desjardins 1, 19:48 (en).

Shots on goal-Buffalo 8-4-4-16. Philadelphia 15-7-16-38.Power-play opp.-Buffalo 1 of 7; Philadelphia 2 of 7.Goalies-Buffalo, Shields 3-5 (37 shots-34 saves). Philadelphia, Snow 7-1 (16-15).A-20,051 (19,511).

Oilers 4, Avalanche 3

Edmonton, Alberta

Trailing late in the game and facing a 3-0 deficit in their series with the defending champion Colorado Avalanche, the Edmonton Oilers didn’t panic.

Instead, they staged a memorable rally as Ryan Smyth and Kelly Buchberger scored 2:18 apart deep into the third period for a win.

Buchberger scored his second goal of the game at 13:57 to tie it at 3. At 16:15, Smyth converted a centering pass for the winner with goaltender Patrick Roy sitting in the crease.

The heart-stopping comeback victory was Edmonton’s first win in the Western Conference semifinal series. Game 4 is scheduled for the Edmonton Coliseum on Friday night.

“It’s a great feeling to get a win here especially in front of our home fans,” Smyth said. “They helped us through.”

The Avalanche looked secure as they took a 3-2 lead into the final period on the strength of a six-point outing from the line of Peter Forsberg, Claude Lemieux and Valery Kamensky, and the play of Roy.

Each of the Avalanche stars had a goal and an assist, while Sandis Ozolinsh added three assists for Colorado. Roy was regularly impenetrable.

But Buchberger, who started the Oilers’ scoring in the first period with a shot into an unguarded net after Smyth knocked an Avalanche player into Roy, tied it.

Then Smyth, an overtime hero in the Oilers’ first-round upset of the Dallas Stars, beat Roy.

The Oilers, who lost 5-1 and 4-1 in Denver to the NHL champions, took a 2-1 lead when Jason Arnott scored late in the period.

Arnott, harshly criticized during the playoffs and much of the season for indifferent play, finished with a goal and two assists.

Colorado 1 2 0 - 3

Edmonton 2 0 2 - 4

First period-1, Colorado, Forsberg 5 (Kamensky, Ozolinsh), 2:25 (pp). 2, Edmonton, Buchberger 4 (deVries, Arnott), 3:20. 3, Edmonton, Arnott 2 (Smyth, Buchberger), 19:48.

Second period-4, Colorado, Kamensky 7 (Lemieux, Ozolinsh), 7:29 (pp). 5, Colorado, Lemieux 8 (Forsberg, Ozolinsh), 11:24.

Third period-6, Edmonton, Buchberger 5 (Mironov), 13:57. 7, Edmonton, Smyth 4 (McGillis, Arnott), 16:15.

Shots on goal-Colorado 7-12-5-24. Edmonton 16-8-14-38.Power-play opp.-Colorado 2 of 5; Edmonton 0 of 6.Goalies-Colorado, Roy 6-3 (38 shots-34 saves). Edmonton, Joseph 5-5 (24-21).A-17,099 (17,099).