Flyers take Game 3 against Caps

Ovechkin struggles as Flyers win, 6-3, to take 2-1 series lead

April 16, 2008

Washington goalie Cristobal Huet hits Philadelphia's Danny Briere. The Flyers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is tomorrow. (Bruce Bennett, Getty Images / April 15, 2008)

PHILADELPHIA // All those impatient boos and a string of games without a goal are in the past for Danny Briere.

Briere has gone from so-so to sensational in his first playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers and has suddenly performed like he's worth every dollar of that big-bucks free-agent deal.

Briere has played more like the top player in the league than likely Most Valuable Player Alex Ovechkin, scoring two more goals with an assist, leading Philadelphia to a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series last night.

"The playoffs are extra special," Briere said. "I'm not going to lie about it, there's a little extra there."

No player has more postseason points the past three years than Briere. His four goals and two assists in the first three games of this series are a huge reason the Flyers hold a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4 is tomorrow night in Philadelphia.

"Danny had a twinkle in his eye," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "He looked like a player who was going to play the way he did."

Briere struggled for nearly two months in the first year of an eight-year, $52 million contract and briefly heard some boos from the Philly fanatics. He got hot late in the season and earned the loudest roars from a pumpkin-orange crowd.

"That was a great thrill the way the crowd was early on and it certainly played a big role," Briere said.

All that energy turned into a bundle of nerves in the final minutes after Brooks Laich beat Martin Biron with 4:34 left in the game to make it 4-3. The play was reviewed for several minutes to make sure the puck wasn't played with a high stick, but the goal stood.

Ovechkin might be taking the MVP back to Washington, but the league's leading scorer has yet to really get going in this series. He scored the winning goal in Game 1 but has otherwise been stymied on each of his lengthy shifts. Ovechkin took only four shots in 24:51 of ice time.

"I just think they're zoning in on our top line," defenseman Mike Green said. "I mean every time those guys touch the puck they're getting hit."

• Off the ice // The Capitals signed right wing Francois Bouchard to a three-year entry-level contract. Bouchard, 19, was taken by Washington in the second round of the 2006 NHL draft.

Washington 1 1 1 - 3

Philadelphia 3 1 2 - 6

First period-1, Philadelphia, Briere 3 (Prospal, Coburn), 16:10. 2, Washington, Fehr 1 (Brashear, Steckel), 17:21. 3, Philadelphia, Hartnell 1 (Prospal, Briere), 18:26. 4, Philadelphia, Kapanen 1 (Dowd), 18:43.
Second period-5, Washington, Green 3 (Semin, Ovechkin), 7:28 (pp). 6, Philadelphia, Briere 4 (Richards, Prospal), 19:50 (pp).
Third period-7, Washington, Laich 1 (Morrisonn, Green), 15:26. 8, Philadelphia, Richards 1 (penalty shot), 17:01. 9, Philadelphia, Knuble 1 (Upshall), 18:55 (en).
Shots on goal-Washington 9-5-5-19. Philadelphia 11-15-7-33.
Goalies-Washington, Huet. Philadelphia, Biron. A-19,822 (19,519). T-2:32.

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Flyers take Game 3 against Caps

Ovechkin struggles as Flyers win, 6-3, to take 2-1 series lead

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Flyers take Game 3 against Caps

Ovechkin struggles as Flyers win, 6-3, to take 2-1 series lead

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