Flyers win a thriller over Capitals, 5-4, in a shoot-out

WASHINGTON - Two nights after a frenetic game that had more goals than a company's annual "improve-the-workplace" meeting, the Flyers tried to regroup Saturday night against Washington.

Which is just what they did.

Danny Briere, atoning for a late penalty, scored the winning goal in the shoot-out, and goalie Brian Boucher did not allow a goal on any of the three shoot-out shots he faced as the Flyers outlasted the powerful Capitals, 5-4, in a wildly entertaining game at an electric Verizon Center.

In the shoot-out, Boucher stopped Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin before Alexander Semin fired the last shot off the left post and crossbar.

Boucher's glove save on Ovechkin was perhaps his best of the night.

"He came up big; he answered the bell," coach Peter Laviolette said.

It was Boucher's first start since Oct. 25, and followed the Flyers' 8-7 loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday, when he relieved rookie starter Sergei Bobrovsky.

"It feels nice. When you don't play, it's hard to feel a part of it," Boucher said after the Flyers' first shoot-out since he beat the Rangers in the final game of the 2009-10 regular season to push his team into the playoffs. "When you get a chance to have a win and get a good start - aside from the end there, when it got a little hairy - I thought it was a pretty solid game."

He called the shoot-out "man vs. man, and obviously I was able to do it, so it feels nice. It feels good to contribute."

Andreas Nodl snapped a 3-3 tie by scoring on a spin-around backhander from in front with 6 minutes, 7 seconds left in regulation, giving the Flyers a 4-3 lead.

James van Riemsdyk, from behind the net, hit Nodl with the pass, and the winger put his shot through the legs of Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth.

But with Briere in the penalty box for high sticking, Washington scored its third power-play goal in the final 8:57 of regulation. Firing from the right circle, Eric Fehr beat Boucher to the short side, tying the score, 4-4, with 38.8 seconds left.

The Flyers seemed in control as they took a 3-1 lead into the final nine minutes.

And then . . .

Power-play goals 28 seconds apart by Backstrom and Jason Chimera tied the score at 3-3 as the Caps took advantage of penalties against Kimmo Timonen and Mike Richards. Chimeras' goal made it 3-3 with 8:29 left.

Surprise starter Boucher was solid in the nets, making 33 saves as the Flyers ended a two-game losing streak.

With the Flyers trailing 1-0, Claude Giroux scored the equalizer when Chris Pronger's drive deflected off his hip and past Neuvirth with 6:49 left in the second period. It ended the Flyers' 0-for-15 funk on the power play, and it gave Giroux a team-leading 11 goals.

"Prongs made a great play. He saw me backdoor," Giroux said. "I tried to get a stick on it and it hit my body and went in. I'll take those goals any day."

Less than five minutes later, just after a Flyers' power play had expired, Richards scored from a wide angle to the right of the net, knocking in a rebound after Scott Hartnell kept the puck alive and fired off Neuvirth.

"The first period-and-a-half, it just seemed like we were trying to figure out what they were doing on their penalty kill," Richards said after his ninth goal of the season. "Finally, it looked like we got a little bit of a hold on it . . . and we started to cross ice and execute passes."

Midway through the third period, Jeff Carter snapped a high wrister from the high slot over Neuvirth's shoulder to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead. Jody Shelley was screening.

On Thursday, the Flyers lost to Tampa Bay, 8-7, in a game that included a combined nine first-period goals.