Ruslan Fedotenko added an empty-net goal for the Flyers, who began the day in 14th in the Eastern Conference but only six points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. Boston, meanwhile, entered with the third-most points in the conference (46).

The trade deadline can’t arrive soon enough for the Bruins, who lost for the fifth time in seven games after an uninspired stumble through Philly, writes Joe McDonald. Story

“That was a huge two points for us and hopefully from here we can play with confidence like we did tonight and keep on the same tracks and keep going,” Read said. “It’s been kind of a tough season for us and tonight is a momentum builder. With the remaining games, if we keep playing like that, who knows? We just have to keep winning and try to make a playoff run.”

With just 14 games left, Philadelphia is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. That made Saturday’s performance against the loaded Bruins somewhat perplexing for the Flyers.

“You feel good about it, but then you’re frustrated too because that’s an upper-echelon team in our league and you ask yourselves, ‘Why don’t you do it more often? Why doesn’t it happen more often?'” Knuble said. “You make the commitment right from the start and everybody was on board today.”

Nathan Horton scored for the Bruins, who dropped to 2-4-1 in their last seven games. They had won four in a row against the Flyers and were unbeaten in their previous 10 trips to Philadelphia (9-0-1).

“We know we have to get better,” said Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who made 19 saves. “We haven’t played that bad, but it’s uncharacteristic mistakes. And it’s something we need to get rid of.

“It happens but then again … we know we need to get better in all areas. It’s weird because we’re not playing awful and we’re losing games, but we know it’s not good enough.”

Coach Claude Julien said the Bruins aren’t playing with any consistency.

“You get some spurts where you’re seeing some good things, but then the next line going up can’t follow up,” he said. “So we are not able to sustain much right now. The biggest challenge is every game we have one line that’s scoring and the other three don’t do a thing. Then it’s a different line another game and then the other three don’t do it. We can’t win hockey games with just relying on one line per night producing for us.”

The Flyers opened the scoring with their fifth consecutive successful power play, this one coming against the NHL’s top penalty-killing unit (91.2 percent). Knuble one-timed Brayden Schenn’s pass from behind the net and beat Rask low and on the glove side to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead with 4:41 left in the first period.

“We’ve been keeping it simple, moving the puck when we’re supposed to,” Read said of the power-play success. “It’s hard work and you have to outwork the penalty killers, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

Philadelphia tacked on another goal in the second when Read scored 3:18 into the period. Jakub Voracek found a streaking Read alone between the circles. Read settled the pass, then ripped a slap shot past Rask’s glove side.

“It was one of those changeups,” Rask said. “It was rolling when he shot it. I don’t think I was perfectly positioned.”

The two-goal deficit was indicative of Boston’s recent struggles.

“We fell behind and that’s been happening to us too much lately,” Rask said. “We just can’t bear down and get that lead. … Just go out there and play our game. They were good goals but when we’re on top of our game, we don’t necessarily give up those chances. Or if we do, I save them.”

The Flyers continued to get strong goaltending from Bryzgalov in the second period. His best save came with just more than eight minutes remaining in the period when he sprawled to his left to stop Patrice Bergeron’s diving wraparound try.

Read nearly made it 3-0 about 30 seconds after Bryzgalov’s save, but his breakaway attempt caromed off the right post.

Boston cut the deficit to 2-1 on Horton’s 10th goal of the season 5 minutes into the third. Dennis Seidenberg took the initial shot from the point and it eventually bounced over to a wide-open Horton, who deposited the puck into the empty net.

“Yeah I mean there was already somebody in front that created the screen, but he jumped on that loose puck,” Julien said of Horton. “Absolutely I think we need more of that. Right now, like I said, we’re very average in all areas. Average and not even playing Bruins hockey. Like I said when you only go in spurts, you can’t expect to win.”

Boston went 0 for 2 on the power play and has scored once in its last 16 chances with the man advantage.

Game notes

Before the game, the Flyers acquired defenseman Kent Huskins from Detroit for a conditional 2014 draft pick. Huskins, in his seventh NHL season, was scoreless in 11 games for the Red Wings this season. … Philadelphia defenseman Oliver Lauridsen made his NHL debut. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder has appeared in 59 games for the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL this season, with a goal, five assists and 77 penalty minutes. … Before the game, Philadelphia unveiled a statue of Flyers greats Bob Clarke and Bernie Parent hoisting the Stanley Cup to commemorate the club’s back-to-back championships in 1974-75.

The post Flyers roll by slumping Bruins to snap 4-game slide appeared first on IdealCapper.

Tyler Seguin’s goal on the first shot of the shootout was nullified because the item was thrown from the stands onto the ice toward New Jersey goalie Johan Hedberg.

So Seguin tried again — and scored again. Ilya Kovalchuk then tied it for the Devils.

After both teams failed on their next four tries, Brad Marchand scored the goal that gave the Bruins a 2-1 win Tuesday night when the final shot, by New Jersey’s Marek Zidlicky, was stopped by Tuukka Rask’s left pad.

“That’s a first,” Seguin said. “I’m still not sure what it was. Maybe a hot dog.”

One of the officials tossed it in the penalty box and had left before being asked exactly what it was.

“It looked yellow,” said Seguin, whose first shot went over Hedberg’s left arm and whose second cleared the goalie’s right arm.

His goal set the stage for Marchand’s game-winner between Hedberg’s pads. It gave the Bruins a 5-0-1 record for an Eastern Conference-best 11 points.

They also opened the 1970-71 season with 11 points, the last time they earned at least one in each of their first six games.

“We’ve played some pretty good hockey so far,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “And the games that weren’t quite as good as we should have been, we found a way to win. And to be a good team you’ve got to be able to do that.”

Marchand did, scoring the first shootout goal of his career.

“All I could hear was (Seguin) saying, `go high, go high,’ `’ he said, “but I just kind of blacked out. I don’t know what happened. … I’m serious. I blacked out.”

Nathan Horton’s goal with 4:05 left in the third period had forced overtime after David Clarkson scored on a power play at 8:30 of the second period.

But the game came down to a shootout, and the Devils led the NHL last season with 12 shootout wins.

“They got it this time,” Hedberg said. “I think it’s sort of a tossup when you get to a shootout.”

The Devils remained unbeaten in regulation but fell to 3-0-2.

“We made a couple of mistakes at the end and we’ve got to control the puck a little bit better,” New Jersey’s Patrik Elias said. “They have big guys up front and in the back, too, and it’s tough to get some opportunities to make some plays on that space.”

The victory was Boston’s second in two nights in which it took the lead late in the game. In Monday night’s 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, David Krejci scored the tiebreaking goal on a pass from rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton with 1:50 left. Seguin added an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining.

The Devils were coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal in which they erased a 3-1 Canadiens lead in the third period.

“Our game in Montreal was a little inconsistent,” New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer said. “Tonight we were solid for 65 minutes.”

Clarkson’s fourth goal of the season came on a 50-footer from the left after he skated with the puck from the middle of the blue line.

Travis Zajac crossed in front of Rask, screening the shot that went in the upper right corner of the net. That made the Bruins the last team to allow a power-play goal this season after 23 successful penalty kills.

Clarkson had another scoring bid early in the third period when he fired the puck from the left circle. But Rask gloved it after stopping it with his chest while Krejci was in the penalty box for interfering with Hedberg.

Horton’s scoring play started when Krejci brought the puck out of his own zone and passed it to Milan Lucic, who carried it over the left side of the Devils’ blue line.

Lucic passed it to Krejci in the middle and he immediately passed it to Horton, who shot a 20-footer from the right past Hedberg, playing for the first time this season after Martin Brodeur started the Devils’ other four games.

“You’re down a goal, you’re down two goals, it doesn’t matter,” Horton said. “You just work hard and fight back.”

Rask returned for the Bruins after sitting out Monday night’s win, the first game he missed this season.

Game notes

Bruins LW Chris Bourque, son of retired Boston star Ray Bourque, turned 27 Tuesday. … Kovalchuk has 41 points in 41 games against the Bruins after going scoreless. … For the Devils, 30-year-old Matt Anderson played in his first NHL game after being called up from Albany of the AHL, where he had seven goals and 13 assists in 39 games this season.

The post Brad Marchand, Tyler Seguin help Bruins top Devils in shootout appeared first on IdealCapper.