LeClair Gains on Selanne as Flyers Stop Blackhawks

John LeClair took a pass in the slot, blasted the puck at a half-open net and heard the clank of pipe.

“I had more net than I needed,” the Philadelphia Flyers’ leading goal-scorer said. “I was a little scared when it hit the pipe.”

No need. The puck went right in and LeClair’s goal at the start of the third period--his second of the game--moved him into second place on the NHL goal-scoring list as the Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, Tuesday night at Philadelphia to clinch a playoff berth.

With his 45th and 46th goals, LeClair is again bearing down on a third consecutive 50-goal year. He trails the Mighty Ducks’ Teemu Selanne by four goals.

“A week or so ago, I started to feel better on the ice and I was getting chances, they just weren’t going in,” LeClair said. “Before that, I wasn’t even getting chances and that’s when things weren’t going well at all.”

Philadelphia, which found out earlier Tuesday that its captain, Eric Lindros, would not return for another five games because of a concussion, won its second game after a three-game skid.

Washington 5, New York Islanders 2--Esa Tikkanen, Brian Bellows and Jeff Brown have been just the thing for the Capitals as they combined for two goals and one assist in the victory at Washington.

The three March acquisitions, who bring tons of Stanley Cup experience to a franchise that hasn’t seen much, already have accounted for 14 points in 16 man-games.

“You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to figure this one out,” Washington Coach Ron Wilson said. “You’ve got tremendous experience with all three players. Everybody thinks Brian Bellows is 37 and Tick is too, but they’re both 33 years old. And Jeff Brown [32] is younger than Sylvain Cote [whom the Capitals traded to get Brown].

“Maybe Tick and Brian are a step past their prime, but they’re still great hockey players,” Wilson said.

Peter Bondra added two first-period goals and an assist as the Capitals moved into fourth place in the logjammed upper-middle ranks of the Eastern Conference.

Montreal 3, Carolina 3--The short-handed Hurricanes found a way to salvage a valuable point with the tie against the Canadiens at Greensboro, N.C.

The Hurricanes (29-36-8) narrowed the gap with idle Ottawa for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Senators (28-31-13) have a three-point lead on Carolina with 10 games to play.

Carolina scratched four players, and Kevin Haller and Steve Chiasson played despite injuries. Haller has a groin injury, and Chiasson sprained his right shoulder Saturday at Philadelphia.