NHL ROUNDUP : Lindros’ Two Goals Lift Flyers

Within two minutes, Eric Lindros was back.

The Philadelphia Flyers’ captain, who sat out the previous seven games because of a knee injury, scored a goal only 1:33 into the game and added another score in a crucial third period as the Flyers outlasted the Ottawa Senators, 5-3, Thursday night at Philadelphia to end a three-game winless streak.

“He’s a great force out there,” said linemate Mikael Renberg, who had a goal and an assist.

“I wouldn’t say I was a force,” Lindros said. “My legs felt pretty good. My hands weren’t that strong. You just have to work on it.”

The other linemate on the Legion of Doom, John LeClair, had two assists. The Flyers were 2-4-1 in Lindros’ absence.

“You can almost see the intangibles he brings when you walk into the dressing room,” Flyer Coach Terry Murray said. “There is an attitude, a feeling of electricity.”

The Flyers’ Rod Brind’Amour, playing in his 175th consecutive game, had four assists.

Florida 2, Vancouver 2--Scott Mellanby scored two goals to help the Panthers stage another third-period rally to tie the Canucks at Miami.

The tie ended Florida’s seven-game winning streak, but allowed the Panthers to remain unbeaten in their last eight contests.

A potential game-winning goal for Florida was waved off midway through the third period. Jody Hull slammed in a loose puck, but the officials denied it when Florida’s Brian Skrudland and Vancouver’s Jeff Brown dislodged the net while battling for the puck.

Vancouver had taken a 2-1 lead on goals by Alexander Mogilny and Trevor Linden.

St. Louis 3, San Jose 1--Patrice Tardif scored the decisive goal at 4:04 of the third period, and Grant Fuhr yielded only one goal for the fourth time in five games as the Blues won at St. Louis.

Fuhr stopped 21 shots in recording his eighth victory and needs only two more to become the 11th goalie in NHL history to reach 300.

Chicago 3, N.Y. Rangers 1--Jeremy Roenick scored a short-handed goal and added an assist to lead the Blackhawks at Chicago.

Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 4--Benoit Hogue scored in the final minute of regulation and added the game-winner at 32 seconds of overtime as the Maple Leafs edged the Lightning at St. Petersburg, Fla.

New Jersey 2, Boston 2--Valeri Zelepukin’s third goal of the season, with 3:04 left in the third period, forced a tie for the Devils at Boston.

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NHL Notes

Right winger Pat Falloon, the No. 2 pick behind Eric Lindros in the 1991 draft, was traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Philadelphia Flyers for two 1996 draft picks and rookie right winger Martin Spanhel. Falloon is San Jose’s career leader in goals, assists and points, but had fallen into disfavor with Coach Kevin Constantine.