Michael Leighton came off the bench after Brian Boucher was hurt in the second period and made 14 saves to complete a shutout Monday, leading Philadelphia to a 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins and helping the Flyers avoid elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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The Bruins, who once led the series by 3-0, now have a 3-2 lead, with Game 6 on Wednesday in Philadelphia. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 Islanders are the only N.H.L. teams to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
Boucher left after injuring his left knee at the bottom of a pileup in the crease at 4 minutes 35 seconds of the second period. The team did not identify his injury.
Leighton, the starter before he was injured March 16, made his first career playoff appearance.
“I was a little bit nervous at the start,” Leighton said. “I didn’t want to lose the confidence of the team. We scored some goals in the second, and it took some pressure off.”
Simon Gagne, who missed the first three games with a broken toe before scoring in overtime to win Game 4, had two goals. Ville Leino had a goal and an assist.
Leino scored off a rebound in front 6:41 into the game to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. It was still close when Boucher was hurt.
Boston put a few quick shots on Leighton to test him, but nothing too challenging, and the Flyers took a 2-0 lead when Scott Hartnell batted Danny Briere’s shot out of the air and into the net with 8:44 left in the second. The Flyers were on a power play when Gagne sent a centering pass from Mike Richards past Tuukka Rask to make it 3-0.
In the third, Gagne came free when Dennis Wideman’s stick broke at the point and the puck trickled into the neutral zone. Gagne easily went around Wideman and in on Rask to score.
“They came out and slapped us in the face,” Bruins forward Mark Recchi said. “Now we have to realize it’s a series.” here
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