Flyers have top-seeded Canadiens on ropes

Benching goalie Carey Price couldn’t spark Montreal. Now Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers are one win from ending the Canadiens’ season.

Briere scored the winner on a rebound with 3:38 left to lift Philadelphia to a 4-2 win over the Canadiens on Wednesday night in Philadelphia and a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Flyers, the worst team in the NHL last season, can eliminate the top-seeded Canadiens in Game 5 on Saturday night in Montreal.

The Canadiens gave Philadelphia a scare when Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koviu tied the score at 2-all on goals 37 seconds apart late in the third period.

Briere’s eighth goal of the postseason was enough to send to Flyers to Montreal with a chance to win the series.

R.J. Umberger scored into an empty net in the final seconds, his second goal of the game.

The Flyers want to avoid a repeat of their first-round series against Washington, when they took a 3-1 lead and didn’t clinch until a Game 7 overtime victory.

Sharks 2, Stars 1: Back to the Shark Tank.

Milan Michalek scored San Jose’s first power-play goal of the series with 16:34 left and the Sharks beat the Stars in Dallas to avoid being swept in the Western Conference semifinals.

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.

Sharks captain Patrick Marleau had tied the game with a short-handed goal, getting one after a turnover by Sergei Zubov for the second game in a row.

Game 5 is Friday 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, dating to last season.

Around the league

New York Rangers forward Sean Avery has been hospitalized after lacerating his spleen during a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. He isn’t expected to need surgery. … Bruce Boudreau, who took over in November and led the Washington Capitals to a division title, was selected one of the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given to NHL’s coach of the year. Former Spokane Chiefs coach Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings and Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens were the other finalists.