Coffey Will Sit Out A Week After Crash With Lindros

Paul Coffey found his way to San Jose on Wednesday morning and his Philadelphia Flyers teammates were relieved.

Coffey crashed to the GM Place ice Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, after a collision with teammate Eric Lindros in the first period of a 5-3 win over the Canucks. Coffey suffered a concussion and the Flyers say he’ll be sidelined about a week. That’s probably good news, considering the injury looked far worse as Coffey was wheeled off the ice.

“Of all the guys, I had to pick the biggest of them all,” Coffey said, referring to the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Lindros. “Why couldn’t I have run into Pat Falloon (5-11, 200)?”

Coffey, who has been living at Lindros’ house since his trade from Hartford on Dec. 15, said he didn’t even know it was Lindros he’d collided with until teammates told him later Tuesday night.

The Flyers were leaving their end on a breakout when the pair collided just inside the Philadelphia blue line in the first period.

“All I remember was turning around and being hit,” Coffey said. “I didn’t have a clue who it was I hit.

“I was out of it. I don’t remember being wheeled off the ice (on the stretcher). I’ve had a couple of these in the past, but nothing as severe as this. This is something along the lines of what happened to (Buffalo center) Pat LaFontaine.”

The accident shook up the Flyers, especially Lindros, whose younger brother Brett retired last summer because of recurring problems from a concussion.

“He was still holding his stick, but his eyes were just not here,” said a shaken Lindros after the game. “I was really nervous.

“He’s better now. I just wish I’d been a bit more with it. I saw him there on the ice and I started thinking of what my brother went through.”

Coffey, who spent Tuesday night in the team’s hotel, not a hospital, has a goal and five assists in five games with Philly.

“I don’t care how it affected us,” Flyers coach Terry Murray said. “The only important thing is: How’s Paul Coffey?”

Ducks finally beat Panthers

Three years ago, a coin flip between Florida and Anaheim in the expansion draft resulted in goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck going to the Panthers and netminder Guy Hebert to the Mighty Ducks.

Vanbiesbrouck - Florida’s top pick - was voted a starter by fans for this month’s All-Star game, but Hebert bettered him on Wednesday, stopping 28 shots for his 13th career shutout as Anaheim beat the Panthers 3-0.

It was Hebert’s fourth shutout of the season, tying his career best set last season. He is 8-4-2 in his last 14 games with a goals-against average hovering around 1.60.

“To come in here and to win this game in their own rink is a big thing for us,” Hebert said. “I’ve been on the wrong end of many of these games. … This is a good way to start the new year out.”

Brian Bellows scored his 450th career goal as the Mighty Ducks beat the Panthers for the first time in five tries. Both teams entered the NHL in 1993, but Florida went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season.

Alexandre Daigle’s second-period goal gave the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 victory over Boston - their first triumph over the Bruins in 22 games since rejoining the NHL in the 1992-93 season.

Alexei Yashin and Tom Chorske also scored for the Senators, who were 0-20-1 against Boston in the past four-plus seasons. Boston was the last team Ottawa had not beaten in its modern era.

Daigle’s 17th goal of the season, at 17:28 of the second period, came on a rebound, after his initial shot hit the post.

The Bruins were without starting goaltender Bill Ranford, sidelined with tendinitis in his left shoulder. He was replaced by rookie Robbie Tallas.

Steve Konowalchuk scored with 1:59 left in overtime as the Washington Capitals beat Hartford 3-2, the Whalers’ fifth straight road loss and first defeat in nine overtime games this season.

Konowalchuk was attempting a centering pass from the backboards, but the puck bounced off the pads of prone goaltender Jason Muzzatti and into the net.

The Capitals improved to 1-2-3 in overtime, while Hartford fell to 2-1-6.

Down 2-0 on a pair of goals by Peter Bondra, the Whalers used a power-play goal by Steven Rice and a short-handed score by Curtis Leschyshyn to pull even late in the second period. Hartford then killed a 5-minute penalty in the third period to temporarily preserve the tie.

The penalty occurred when Keith Primeau slashed Joe Juneau, who left the game after lying on the ice for several minutes.

Hartford had a 5-on-3 opportunity late in regulation, but Washington goalie Jim Carey made a sprawling stick save on Kevin Dineen’s backhander from the slot.