PHILADELPHIA, 22 December 2003 — Light-scoring defenseman Jim Vandermeer netted second and third-period goals as the Philadelphia Flyers snapped a five-game winless skid with a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Vandermeer had only three career goals before his outburst against the Islanders, who went up 1-0 early in the second period on Alexei Yashin’s goal.
Simon Gagne grabbed Philadelphia’s third marker midway through the final frame. Robert Esche made 18 saves to notch the win. The Flyers had dropped three straight games at home, two in overtime.
Hurricanes 2 Bruins 1
In Boston, Eric Staal’s seventh goal of the season at 3:33 of the third period proved the game-winner as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Bruins 2-1.
Senators 3 Rangers 1
In Ottawa, Curtis Leschyshyn, Peter Schaefer and Jason Spezza tallied as the Senators overcame an early Darius Kasparaitis goal to down the New York Rangers 3-1. Patrick Lalime turned aside 24 shots for the victory.
Maple Leafs 4 Canadiens 2
In Toronto, captain Mats Sundin’s bad-angle shot with 30 seconds left gave the surging Maple Leafs a comeback 4-2 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens.
Stars 2 Lightning 1
In Tampa Bay, Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow found the mark as the Dallas Stars edged the Lightning 2-1. Philippe Boucher assisted on both Dallas goals.
Thrashers 7 Penguins 4
In Pittsburgh, Marc Savard scored a goal and assisted on four more as the Atlanta Thrashers thumped the Penguins 7-4. Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov both had two goals to pace Atlanta.
Wild 5 Blue Jackets 2
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Wild received two goals from Wes Walz and singles from Matt Johnson, Andrei Zyuzin and Sergei Zholtok in a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Blues 1 Coyotes 1
In St. Louis, Pavol Demitra equalized for the Blues midway through the second period as they secured a 1-1 tie with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Predators 1 Red Wings 0
In Nashville, Tomas Vokoun turned aside all 21 Detroit shots as the Predators upset the Red Wings 1-0. Curtis Joseph stopped all but one of the 17 shots he faced, Dan Hamhuis beating him at 8:33 of the third period.
