Flyers fall to Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio - For the second straight game, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated one of last season's Stanley Cup finalists Monday night.

This time, it was the Eastern Conference champion Flyers who fell to the Jackets, 2-1, before a sparse crowd of 11,727 at Nationwide Arena.

In its previous game, Columbus rallied past the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, on Saturday.

Like a certain baseball team from South Philadelphia, the Flyers are an offensive puzzle.

Aside from a mini-eruption after they juggled three lines in Saturday's 5-2 win over Toronto, the Flyers' attack has struggled mightily.

On Monday, the lines didn't generate enough attack time. And when they did, backup goalie Mathieu Garon, who was making his second start of the season, had most of the answers.

Garon, 32, made 28 saves - none better than the quick glove he displayed to knock away Nik Zherdev's low-slot drive early in the third period - and almost notched his 17th career shutout.

Ville Leino scored on a scramble in front to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 5 minutes, 1 second left. Six seconds later, though, the Flyers' chances became dim as Darroll Powe went to the penalty box for interference.

The Flyers were averaging just 2.57 goals per game entering Monday, placing them tied for 22d in the 30-team NHL.

The Flyers (3-4-1) are off to a worse start than last season, when they were 5-2-1 after eight games en route to getting their coach fired.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette could not have been happy about the first period. He watched his team give up a slew of odd-man rushes and fail to clear bodies in front of goalie Brian Boucher.

The Flyers, trying to win two straight for the first time this season, faced a 1-0 deficit after the opening period. If not for several outstanding stops by Boucher, the deficit would have been a lot worse.

After allowing 14 shots in the entire game during Saturday's 5-2 win against Toronto, the Flyers yielded 11 first-period shots - and Columbus had several other good attempts that went just wide.

With 15:33 left in the first period, Boucher stopped Rick Nash's backhander after he was set up perfectly by Jakub Voracek's give-and-go pass.

About 11/2 minutes later, Boucher stopped a backhander by Antoine Vermette, who was alone in front.

Columbus had six of the game's first seven shots, and it applied pressure throughout the period.

That pressure finally took its toll on the Flyers.

Chris Clark raced past defenseman Chris Pronger and fired a left-circle shot that Boucher stopped but couldn't control. Kyle Wilson knocked in the rebound with 7:41 left in the first period. It was the first career goal for Wilson, a 25-year-old center who was signed as a free agent in the off-season.

The Flyers' best early chance came with just under three minutes left in the opening period, but goalie Mathieu Garon stopped Jeff Carter's drive from the right circle.

The Flyers were outshot by 11-10 in the first 20 minutes, but the Blue Jackets had a big territorial edge.

Early in the season, Columbus' power play has been just about as woeful as the Flyers'. But with Danny Briere in the penalty box for hooking, the Blue Jackets converted their first power-play chance as Derick Brassard one-timed a cross-ice pass from Nash past Boucher with 10:03 left in the second period. Brassard was at the left of the crease as he tapped in the pass, giving Columbus a 2-0 lead.

The Flyers, who have been among the league's best on the penalty kill, missed several chances to clear the puck during the Jackets' power play.

"We just kept everything simple," Brassard said. "I didn't see the puck coming at first, but I was ready."

The Flyers failed to capitalize on their only full power play in the first two periods, though they had a man advantage that carried over into the third period. Their power play was 3 for 34 (8.8 percent) heading into the third period.