Flyers Move Into First-Place Tie

Coach Bill Barber and veteran Rick Tocchet have combined to carry the Philadelphia Flyers back into first place.

Tocchet scored two goals Thursday night as the Flyers ended the San Jose Sharks’ five-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory at Philadelphia. The Flyers moved into a tie with the New Jersey Devils atop the Atlantic Division and remained unbeaten under Barber.

“Tocchet’s a warrior,” Barber said, after the Flyers improved to 3-0-3 since he replaced Craig Ramsay. “He’s been around. He has won and he is hard-nosed.

“He is everything that the Flyers really stand for. That is our tradition, that is our pride.”

Tocchet credits Barber, a key member of the Flyers’ Stanley Cup championship teams in 1974 and 1975, for instilling a new attitude among the players.

“We’ve been coming to the rink with a little bit of a snarl,” he said. “Everything has been positive. You can see guys are finishing their checks, going to the net hard, getting the puck out and taking the hit when you’ve got to make the plays.”

Said Daymond Langkow, who had a goal and two assists to bring his point total to 10 in the last four games: “Everything seems to be going our way. We’re hot right now and we just have to keep playing hard, practicing hard and keep rolling.”

Keith Primeau also scored for the Flyers, who chased Evgeni Nabokov--the NHL’s leading goalie.

Nabokov, who leads the league with 19 victories, was replaced by Steve Shields 2:21 into the second period after giving up three goals on only 10 shots.

Patrick Marleau scored two goals and Alexander Korolyuk scored the other for the Sharks, who entered with the NHL’s best road record (11-3-2). San Jose is 9-2-1 against Eastern Conference teams.

Three of Philadelphia’s goals came on the power play as the Flyers ended an 0-for-19 drought with the man advantage.

“We heard how bad Philadelphia’s power play was before tonight,” said San Jose’s Tony Granato, who assisted on Korolyuk’s goal. “But they got a couple of bounces that just found their way into the net. That’s what kept them in the game.”

Chicago 6, Vancouver 4--Steve Sullivan scored three goals and Alex Zhamnov broke a tie with 4:56 to play at Chicago as the Blackhawks rallied to win.

Sullivan, whose only other hat trick was a four-goal game, scored into an empty net with 23.1 seconds left.

Michael Nylander and Tony Amonte also scored and Boris Mironov had three assists for the Blackhawks, who overcame 3-0 and 4-3 deficits to win at home for only the fourth time in 14 home games.

Montreal 4, Nashville 2--Trevor Linden scored two goals and Chad Kilger and Saku Koivu added goals at Montreal as the Canadiens ended an eight-game winless streak.

Montreal, 0-6-2 since a Nov. 30 victory, also ended a five-game home winless streak. The Canadiens won for only the sixth time in 19 home games.

Dallas 3, New York Islanders 1--Richard Matvichuk scored his first two goals of the season to lead the Stars at Uniondale, N.Y.

Boston 4, Toronto 0--Byron Dafoe earned his first shutout of the season, stopping 23 shots at Boston, and Eric Manlow picked up his first NHL point.

The Bruins scored two goals in each of the first two periods, then held on through a series of fights to avenge a 7-1 loss at Toronto six weeks ago. Brian Rolston had a goal and two assists, and Jason Allison, Mikko Eloranta and Andrei Kovalenko also scored for Boston.

Dafoe’s shutout was his 21st.

Washington 3, Buffalo 1--Peter Bondra and Andrei Nikolishin scored third-period goals for the Capitals at Buffalo, N.Y.

Pittsburgh 1, Tampa Bay 1--Jaromir Jagr scored the game-tying goal early in the third period for the Penguins at Tampa, Fla.

Columbus 3, Ottawa 3--Serge Aubin scored the tying goal for the Blue Jackets early in the third period at Columbus, Ohio.

Around the League

Right wing Matthew Barnaby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was suspended for four games by the NHL after he grabbed a fan’s arm while returning to the locker room during Wednesday’s 2-2 tie with the Florida Panthers. Barnaby will forfeit $53,658.54 in salary. . . . Center Michael Peca of the Buffalo Sabres will sit out the entire season if his demand for a trade or a four-year contract for about $4 million a season is not met, his agent, Don Meehan, said.