Pittsburgh miscue lets Phillly salvage a point

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Game Information

Arena: Mellon Arena Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Referees: HarryDumas, BradMeier Linesmen: BrianMach, TimNowak

Attendance: 10,907 (64.3% full)

Team Stat Comparison
229	Goals	190
186	Goals Against	303
65	Power Play Goals	65
58	Power Play Goals Allowed	84
7	Shorthanded Goals	7
3	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	15
1357	Penalty Minutes	1270
17	Average Penalty Minutes	15

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD			PHI	PIT
3:14		Alex Zhamnov Unassisted	1	0
13:24		Landon Wilson Assists: Milan Kraft, Jon Sim	1	1
19:48		Kim Johnsson (Power Play) Assists: Mark Recchi, Michal Handzus	2	1
2ND PERIOD			PHI	PIT
7:09		Aleksey Morozov Assists: Milan Kraft	2	2
17:55		Aleksey Morozov (Power Play) Assists: Milan Kraft, Ryan Malone	2	3
3RD PERIOD			PHI	PIT
1:16		Simon Gagne Assists: Alex Zhamnov, Tony Amonte	3	3
OT			PHI	PIT
No scoring this period			3	3

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins just gave away a victory.

Miscommunication between goaltender Sebastien Caron and center Rico Fata left a loose puck sitting behind the Penguins' goal early in the third period Sunday, and Simon Gagne converted Alex Zhamnov's ensuing pass for an easy goal into an empty net that lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-3 tie.

"I looked at Rico, he was coming toward me, and I told him to take the puck," said Caron, who made 24 saves. "He was telling me to shoot it, and nobody did anything. We just let it go."

Gagne's 21st goal and second in as many games salvaged a critical point for the Flyers, who have won just one of their last seven road games (1-3-2-1).

"Alex just took the puck and made a pass, and I had an open net after that," Gagne said. "I was a little bit surprised. I had a lot of time to make sure the puck was flat on the ice and went into the net."

Zhamnov and Kim Johnsson also scored for the Flyers, who are unbeaten in four games (2-0-2) and moved within one point of Southeast Division-leading Tampa Bay for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Aleksey Morozov scored twice and Milan Kraft set up three goals for the Penguins, who are last overall in the NHL, but unbeaten in five games (4-0-1) and 6-2-2 in their past 10.

The Flyers are headed to Amelia Island, Fla., for workouts over the next three days before returning home to play Toronto on Thursday.

"We are making too many mistakes," said Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock. "This [trip] could not have come at a better time for us because we have some people that need to regain their focus. We have two or three people literally carrying our hockey club right now, and we need a lot more on board."

Said John LeClair, "It's going to be good to just get away for a couple of days."

Morozov tied the score 2-2 with his 12th goal of the season at 7:09 of the second period. Kraft tried to stuff the puck past goaltender Sean Burke from behind the net, but it slid in front to Morozov, who swept it into the net.

Morozov put the Penguins ahead for the first time with a power-play goal at 17:55 when he gloved Kraft's pass, set the puck down and beat Burke with a backhander from the edge of the right circle.

"I've just had some good chances and they're going in," said Morozov, who has eight goals and 21 points in the last 24 games after a disappointing first half. "When you're getting goals and points, you always play with confidence, and I'm trying to keep that confidence the rest of the season."

Zhamnov gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 3:14 of the first period when he circled the net and tossed a backhander through traffic and past Caron for his 11th goal.

Pittsburgh tied it at 13:24 on Landon Wilson's fourth goal of the season, a turning shot from the left circle. But Philadelphia regained the lead with 11.9 seconds to play in the period when Mark Recchi's centering pass from the right corner was directed in by Johnsson for his 11th goal.

The Flyers had four power plays in the opening period, outshooting the Penguins 11-5 and controlling play.

"It was tough because we spent quite a bit of time in the penalty box and a lot of [our players] weren't able to get into the flow of the game," Pittsburgh coach Ed Olczyk said. "But we had another huge five-on-three kill in the first, and we had very good goaltending."

Game notes
Pittsburgh entered the game with 13 points since Feb. 25, third most in the league during that span behind Tampa Bay and Montreal. ... The Flyers, who play five of their final eight games at home, have lost only two of their last 15 games against Pittsburgh. ... Kraft, who had his first career three-point game, has points in four straight games (2-6-8).