Flyers are pests in crease, unnerve Tampa Bay

Hartnell posted his second consecutive three-point game last night as the Flyers ran over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-2, in a special early-evening game at the Wachovia Center to avoid a conflict with Game 5 of the World Series.

After struggling in a six-game stretch in which he only posted one assist in the middle of October, Hartnell decided - as did the rest of the Flyers' offense - to get back to basics.

"I didn't have a great start personally," Hartnell said. "Looking at the first few games, I wasn't getting to the net."

Hartnell wasn't the only one. The Flyers seemed to have lost their hunger around the net; it was painfully apparent in their 4-1 loss to San Jose on Oct. 25.

They stopped wreaking havoc in front of the net, winning battles in the corners and salivating for loose pucks. That's why they couldn't finish their chances a week ago against Washington.

Some call it old-time hockey. For the Flyers, last night was just a return to their roots.

"We talked about getting our nose dirty and getting to the net," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "If you don't work and win board battles, and have extra efforts on pucks, you don't have success."

Although the Flyers were outplayed in the opening minutes, Mike Richards found a Chris Pronger rebound in front of an empty net after Hartnell screened Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith, 8:29 into the game.

"Our 'D' is doing a heck of a job getting pucks to the net," Hartnell said. "We're making it tough for the goalie to see and we're there for rebounds. The last couple of games, it's been working."

Hartnell scored less than 11 minutes later when he tried to backhand a pass to Claude Giroux, just feet from Smith. Instead of connecting with Giroux, the puck found its way into the net.

"You'll notice a lot more north-south to our game here," said James van Riemsdyk, who had three assists. "We've kind of just been throwing pucks at the net and getting greasy in front and that's what it's going to take to score a lot of goals."

In the second period, David Laliberte scored his second goal in as many games as a Flyer on a one-timer from Jeff Carter. It was another goal scored from a scramble in front of the net.

The Flyers chased Smith after they scored their fifth goal in 18 shots. The Flyers have outscored their opponents, 12-3, in their last two games.

Their fifth and sixth goals, scored by Richards and Carter, were both put-backs on rebounds. Both players finished with two goals. It was Carter's first goal in eight games, his longest drought in 2 years.

"I think in the past couple weeks, we've been trying to pass the puck to the net instead of getting dirty goals," Richards said. "We've been working on getting pucks to the net and bearing down a little bit more around the net."

When the Flyers caused a commotion in front of the net, Tampa Bay didn't push back. It wasn't a performance that mirrored Lightning coach Rick Tocchet's playing style. Tocchet, too, earned his paychecks for his play in front of the net.

"[We] were very light on our sticks and the Flyers were very strong," Tocchet said. "There wasn't even any push back. We looked really weak out there."

In the NHL, it isn't always about weak against strong. But it always comes down to who wants it more. Hartnell and the Flyers owned the front of the net.

"That's kind of what's gotten me here today in Philly," Hartnell said. "Being in front of the net on the power play and doing simple things like getting to the pucks in the corners and banging, is something that I like.

"You're going to take cross-checks and things like that, but you're going to get rewarded, too."

Slap shots

 

Chris Pronger played a season-low 19:41, and posted two assists . . . The Flyers continued their hot streak on the power play, capitalizing twice on four chances. They have scored seven goals with the man advantage in their last five games . . . Arron Asham dropped Zenon Konopka in a second-period scrap . . . Tampa Bay sniper Vincent Lecavalier was a minus-3. A 52-goal scorer in 2006-07, Lecavalier has just one goal in 12 games this season . . . Surprisingly, former Flyer cheap-shot artist Steve Downie did not have any penalties, but he took a run at a few of his old mates.

For more news and analysis, read Frank Seravalli's blog, Frequent Flyers, at http://go.philly.com/frequentflyers.