Knuble lifts Flyers in 2 OTs

Capitals sink to a 3-1 series deficit

Capitals goalie Cristobal Huet stops a shot by the Flyers's Mike Knuble in action last night. (TIM SHAFFER/Reuters)

Mike Knuble needed nearly 90 minutes to deliver Philadelphia's biggest goal of the playoffs. Not much of a wait considering he took 11 years to score the most thrilling one of his career.

"It was by far my biggest one," Knuble said.

Knuble poked in his second goal of the series 6:40 into the second OT to give the Flyers a dramatic 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals last night in Philadelphia and a 3-1 series lead.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to score in this town and hear the building go nuts," Knuble said. "You pinch yourself. You can't believe it's happening."

Believe it, Mike.

The Flyers, the worst team in the NHL last season, can finish off the Capitals in Game 5 tomorrow in Washington.

Danny Briere saved the game again with a tying goal midway through regulation and Jeff Carter scored twice for the Flyers.

"I thought the game got more and more exciting," Briere said. "A lot more chances were being created in overtime."

None bigger than the one Knuble, who played for the Bruins from 1999-2004, took advantage of to stun the Caps. He ended the first double-overtime playoff game at the Wachovia Center when he found the puck near the front of the net and quickly poked in a rebound past Cristobal Huet.

"Bing-bang, a rebound and goal," Huet said.

Knuble was mobbed by his teammates while the standing, frantic fans howled in celebration.

"It popped right to my forehand, and I was able to chip it up," Knuble said.

The Capitals have dropped three straight in the series and it could be the end for them if leading scorer Alex Ovechkin can't start finding the back of the net. Ovechkin, who scored 65 goals this season, scored his only playoff goal in Game 1 and had only two assists in Game 4.

"It's not over yet," Ovechkin said.

Neither team showed signs of exhaustion in the first OT, with Huet and counterpart Martin Biron facing good, hard shots almost each time the puck was in the attack zone. Overtime was played at a frenetic pace and each team took 11 shots, almost all causing gasps from the crowd.

The Flyers had a power play late in regulation and attacked Huet for all two minutes, but came up empty. Huet, who was fantastic in Washington's stretch run just to make the playoffs, made a few spectacular saves that helped send the game into OT.

Stars 3, Ducks 1 - Stu Barnes and Steve Ott scored third-period goals and Marty Turco came within 7.6 seconds of a shutout, sending host Dallas past Anaheim and putting the reigning Stanley Cup champion on the brink of elimination.

Dallas leads the first-round series, 3-1, going into Game 5 in Anaheim tonight.

Turco made 28 saves. He didn't have too many spectacular stops, but there were several tough ones. He also endured a third-period collision with Anaheim's Teemu Selanne; Selanne skated stick-first into Turco's head, then conked the goalie's helmet with an elbow. Turco fell backward into the net, but was fine. Selanne wound up in the penalty box.

Avalanche 3, Wild 2 - In St. Paul, Minn., Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny scored 79 seconds apart early in the third period to give Colorado the victory and a 3-2 series lead after weathering a relentless effort by the Wild.

Sharks 4, Flames 3 - Patrick Marleau scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and Jonathan Cheechoo added two goals in the third that sent host San Jose to a 3-2 lead in this first-round series.