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O’Neill, Lindros Power Maple Leafs

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From Associated Press

Jeff O’Neill’s first goal with the Toronto Maple Leafs meant much more to him than just scoring for his hometown team.

O’Neill scored the go-ahead goal and Eric Lindros had one against his former club as the Maple Leafs defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, Tuesday night at Toronto for their first win of the season.

O’Neill’s one-timer on the power play gave Toronto a 3-2 lead at 7:34 of the third period. He then pointed to the sky in tribute to his older brother, Donny, who was killed in a car accident in Toronto in July.

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“The last three months have seemed like three years. I knew that when I got my first one it was for him,” O’Neill said. “It was pretty emotional. It’s even tough talking about it right now. It’s something that is real tough to deal with, but being in this locker room and playing hockey makes it a little easier.”

O’Neill was traded to Toronto from Carolina two weeks after his brother was killed.

Lindros scored with 6:51 left to make it 4-2 for the Maple Leafs (1-1-2). Lindros, a Toronto native, has four points in four games with his new team.

He spent his first nine NHL seasons with Philadelphia and was the league most valuable player in 1995. A bitter dispute with General Manager Bob Clarke led to Lindros’ being traded to the New York Rangers in the summer of 2001. Lindros signed with the Maple Leafs after the lockout.

Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers.

Backup Mikael Tellqvist started in goal for Toronto in the second of back-to-back contests. He made 31 saves one night after the Maple Leafs lost in a shootout at Ottawa.

“Hopefully, I can ride this wave a little and get a chance to play again,” said Tellqvist, who has struggled with the Maple Leafs in the past.

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Ottawa 4, Montreal 2 -- Daniel Alfredsson scored twice and Ray Emery stopped 26 shots in his first start of the season at Montreal to help the Senators extend their winning streak to four.

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Saku Koivu and Steve Begin scored for Montreal, which drew a capacity crowd of 21,273 for its home opener after the Canadiens won their first three road games.

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St. Louis 4, Chicago 1 -- Jay McClement scored his first NHL goal on a penalty shot and had an assist at St. Louis to lead the Blues to their first victory of the season.

Patrick Lalime, acquired by the Blues from Ottawa before the NHL lockout, rebounded from a slow start and made 32 saves in his first victory of the season. Lalime was 0-3 with a 6.00 goals-against average.

Dean McAmmond, Scott Young and Dallas Drake also scored for St. Louis. Mike Sillinger had two assists, giving him 400 points in his career. Tyler Arnason scored Chicago’s goal.

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Dallas 3, Phoenix 2 -- Jussi Jokinen scored the first goal of his NHL career to break a tie late in the second period, and Mike Modano scored a short-handed goal midway through the third period, lifting the Stars at Dallas.

Coach Wayne Gretzky’s Coyotes fell to 1-3, including 0-3 on the road.

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