Hit mars Flyers' 5-1 victory over Panthers

Van Riemsdyk's goal - he scored on a late breakaway by putting a backhander through the legs of goalie Tomas Vokoun - was the first of his blossoming NHL career.

But after the game, the focus was on Booth, a 24-year-old left winger who had tied the game, 1-1, with a first-period goal before being injured with 2 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the second period.

Florida general manager Randy Sexton said that there was no injury to Booth's neck, and that the player would stay overnight for observation at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Booth had feelings in his extremities, said Florida coach Peter DeBoer, adding that the player had been unconscious on the ice.

After carrying the puck into the Flyers' zone, Booth made a pass and was jolted by Richards.

Booth lay motionless on the ice, and there was a seven-minute delay. After getting attention from both teams' medical staffs, he was gingerly placed on a stretcher, having suffered what is believed to be a concussion. As he was removed from the ice, Booth received a tap of encouragement from the Flyers' Chris Pronger and some of his Florida teammates.

The NHL will review the hit, and Richards could be suspended for a few games. The league will concentrate on whether Richards left his feet to deliver the hit. If the league deems he did, he will undoubtedly be suspended.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said that it was a clean hit, that Richards should not be suspended, and that he left his feet only after the collision, not before it.

Sexton disagreed, saying "there is no place" in hockey for the blow that was delivered.

"The league wants to get rid of these shots to the head," he told a Miami Herald reporter.

"It's unfortunate the kid got hurt there . . . but Mike Richards is not a dirty player. He doesn't try to hurt people," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "He was backchecking through the middle, and he has as much integrity as anybody playing the game."

"Everything happened so quickly, it's kind of hard to explain," Richards said. "Obviously, I was not trying to hurt him. I was trying to separate him from the puck, but he moved."

Florida defenseman Keith Ballard was irate over the hit.

"The thing with Mike Richards is he's a good, honest player. He plays hard, but he does bleep like that," he said. "He's done it before . . .. It's a split-second decision, but it's a decision that's been made several times now."

For the first time this season, Briere was playing alongside two big-bodied players, van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter (11 shots, two assists).

"They are two guys that take a lot of pucks to the net and shoot a lot," Briere said. "I told them to keep doing what they are doing, and I'm going to try and find the loose pucks."

Early in the second period, Asham swatted a bouncing puck past Vokoun to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Gagne scored his first goal of the season with 3:58 left in the second period, collecting a rebound off a Richards shot and lifting it over a prone Vokoun on the power play to make it 3-1.

"When you score the first one, you feel like you're back," Gagne said. "You feel like you are able to do a little bit more on the ice. You feel a bit more in control of yourself."

About a minute after Gagne's power-play goal, Richards flattened Booth.

Briere's second goal of the night, a power-play score after a great pass from Scott Hartnell, made it 4-1 with 14:57 left. That came after the Flyers killed a five-on-three Florida power play that lasted for nearly two minutes.

Van Riemsdyk closed the scoring with his historic goal with 2:59 to go. The impressive rookie has seven points in six games.

Pronger had eight blocked shots last night.

Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at 215-854-5181 or scarchidi@phillynews.com.