Late Goal Leaves Lindros, Flyers On Verge Of Finals

NHL playoffs

One backhanded, last-moment swat brought Eric Lindros that much closer to fulfilling the expectations forced on him since he joined the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992.

The on-the-mark shot, on a power play with 7 seconds to go, gave Philadelphia a 3-2 victory Friday night over New York, bringing the Rangers to the brink of elimination and Lindros a game away from his first Stanley Cup finals.

“That backhand shot is from almost the dot in the face-off circle,” Flyers coach Terry Murray said. “I think you’d see most players in that kind of position would try and pull it to a forehand, and if that had been the case it might have been too late.”

The Flyers lead the best-of-7 series 3-1. New York could be eliminated in Game 5 Sunday in Philadelphia. The Flyers last went to the finals 10 years ago.

“We will enjoy the win, but we know that the most difficult game of the series to win is the fourth,” Murray said.

Lindros, who scored his first playoff hat trick in the Flyers’ 6-3 victory Tuesday, broke the tie with his 10th goal of the playoffs on a blind backhand pass from John LeClair with goaltender Mike Richter out of position.

Rangers coach Colin Campbell fumed afterward about a slash to the arm of Wayne Gretzky in the second period, saying it had cut the star center’s effectiveness.

“It was a bitter way to lose and a bitter pill to swallow,” Campbell said. “He played, but how did he play with one arm? He couldn’t shoot.”

New York’s Brian Leetch, whose sprained wrist had kept him offensively weak Tuesday and for most of Friday’s game, tied the game 2-2 with 2:08 remaining on a behind-the-net feed from Gretzky.

A shorthanded goal by Esa Tikkanen, consistently one of the best - and healthiest - Rangers in the playoffs, tied the game 1-1 1:41 into the third period.

With Ulf Samuelsson serving a penalty for roughing, Tikkanen took a pass from Doug Lidster and faked two Flyers defensemen for a clean shot on goalie Ron Hextall.

Philadelphia went ahead again at 16:47 on a shorthanded goal as John Druce went around Rangers defenseman Bruce Driver at the blue line and rushed in to fire a slap shot that Richter failed to hold. Druce flicked the rebound high into the net for his first goal of the playoffs.

Just as in Tuesday’s game, the Flyers held New York scoreless through two periods, this time relying more on Hextall as the Rangers were markedly more aggressive, but still disorganized.

Flyers 3, Rangers 2

Philadelphia 1 0 2 - 3

N.Y. Rangers 0 0 2 - 2

First period-1, Philadelphia, Renberg 5 (Hawerchuk, Coffey), 7:08 (pp).

Second period-None.

Third period-2, New York, Tikkanen 8 (Lidster), 1:41 (sh). 3, Philadelphia, Druce 1, 16:47 (sh). 4, New York, Leetch 2 (Gretzky, Robitaille), 17:52. 5, Philadelphia, Lindros 10 (LeClair, Brind’Amour), 19:53 (pp).

Shots on goal-Philadelphia 10-11-19-40. New York 6-17-11-34.Power-play opp.- Philadelphia 2 of 7; New York 0 of 6.Goalies-Philadelphia, Hextall 3-0 (34 shots-32 saves). New York, Richter 9-5 (40-37).A-18,200 (18,200).

NHL fines Colorado’s Crawford

Colorado Avalanche coach Marc Crawford was remorseful and apologetic for his Game 4 tirade that resulted in a $10,000 fine by the NHL. The NHL levied the fine under a rule that punishes conduct that is “dishonorable, prejudicial to or against the welfare of the league.”

Ducks let Kurri become free agent

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks won’t exercise a one-year, $1.5 million option on right wing Jari Kurri’s contract, making the 16-year NHL veteran an unrestricted free agent.

Red line out of international play

The International Ice Hockey Federation ruled to eliminate the center red line for two-line offside passes after the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, an attempt to create more scoring opportunities. The red line will still be used for icing calls.