Neilson’s the Star as Flyers Beat Coyotes

The applause grew louder and louder, until Roger Neilson had to stop thinking about hockey for a minute and notice the ovation was for him.

Philadelphia gave Neilson a rousing ovation to encourage him in his fight against bone marrow cancer, and his team rewarded him with one of its most impressive victories of the season.

John LeClair scored the tying goal and set up Mark Recchi for the winner 1:43 later as the Philadelphia Flyers beat Phoenix, 5-3, on Thursday night at Philadelphia.

“That was probably the most exciting game of the year for everyone, and I know one team was really pumped at the end of the game,” said Neilson, whose team won for the first time in three tries since he announced he has cancer.

The Flyers, playing without injured captain Eric Lindros, extended the league’s best current home winning streak to 10 games (9-0-1). They haven’t lost at home since Oct. 26.

Philadelphia scored three times in the final 2:19, helping ease the memory of several third-period collapses earlier in the season.

The Flyers improved to 3-1 this season without Lindros, who hopes to return from a bruised left hand Saturday against Tampa Bay.

New Jersey 2, Montreal 1--Randy McKay scored on a deflection with 20.9 seconds remaining to give the Devils a victory at Montreal.

Ottawa 2, Vancouver 1--Ron Tugnutt made 21 saves at Vancouver, Canada, as the Senators spoiled Mark Messier’s return to the Canucks.

Messier, the NHL’s leading active scorer with 615 goals and 1,673 points, was back in the lineup after missing 15 games because of a knee injury.