The focus was less on the game than on the pregame pomp and circumstance. The Flyers welcomed back 24 members of the Stanley Cup winning teams of 1974 and 1975, including fan favorites Andre "Moose" Dupont and Dave "The Hammer" Schultz.

The loudest roar of the night came for Ed Van Impe, as Flyers public-address announcer Lou Nolan told the fans, "Van Impe chased the Soviets out of the country" with his crushing hit on Valery Kharlamov, causing the Soviet team to leave the ice in protest.

After welcoming each player to the ice, the 17,077 in attendance gazed with awe as the Flyers raised the two, bright-orange Stanley Cup championship banners to their rightful home. Fans also viewed a montage honoring founding chairman Ed Snider, who brought hockey to Philadelphia in November 1966.

"Obviously, because of the tradition here, it was a special game," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "With the Spectrum coming down this year, it is for people who have built this [place]."

Oh, yeah. There was a game to play, the last for the Flyers in the Spectrum. The matchup featured the usual preseason storylines: players battling for jobs, young players begging to earn their rite of passage. But the atmosphere was more like an All-Star Game, with little - if any - physical play and a creative license on offense.

That was probably a good thing for Simon Gagne, who is still adjusting after missing 57 games with concussion symptoms. Gagne, who hadn't played since Feb. 10, looked comfortable, notching his second goal of the preseason to open the scoring.

"I felt pretty good," Gagne said. "I'm definitely more comfortable on the ice. I've been waiting to get to where I am right now. I feel good the day after games . . . that is a good sign."

Gagne beat Antero Niittymaki through the five-hole after linemate Daniel Briere found him in the slot. Niittymaki, who has missed most of training camp following surgery on his left hip, stopped 28 of 30 shots for the Phantoms in his first game action since March 29 with the Flyers.

"I felt good," Niittymaki said. "I wanted to play at least two periods and then see how it felt. Obviously, it felt good enough to play a third period. It was a good test."

Jared Ross scored the equalizer for the Phantoms in the second period, but he was outdone by teammate Patrick Maroon, who finished with a goal and an assist. The rookie from St. Louis gave the Phantoms the lead on a rebound with 10:53 remaining in the third period.

Jonathan Matsumoto scored 5 minutes later to give the Phantoms a two-goal advantage. It looked as if the Flyers would stage a comeback win in their final game on Spectrum ice, with Scottie Upshall tallying with 4:52 left on the clock.

Then, Andreas Nodl added an empty-net goal to seal the Phantoms' victory.

It was the final tuneup for both teams before they open the season this weekend.

"I think I know more about our team than we did at this time last year," Stevens said. "We are evolving, especially with injuries, and I think we will continue to evolve. Where we are at, we'll find out on Saturday." *