LeClair Lights Up Philadelphia

In a city famous for its cynics, the Philadelphia Flyers are doing everything possible to shut them up.

Although they lead the Atlantic Division and have the second-best record in the NHL, the Flyers' followers won't be satisfied until they beat some elite teams. So Eric Lindros, John LeClair & Co. whipped the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 Thursday night for the Flyers' eighth victory in 11 games.

Admit it, Philly. The Flyers are the hottest team in the NHL.

"This is a good win for us," said LeClair, who scored his NHL-leading 28th and 29th goals. "We talked about how we wanted to beat a top team. This is definitely a tough team."

The Flyers have lost only once in the past 20 games (13-1-6) and are the only Eastern Conference team unbeaten against the West (10-0-4). Though they haven't played Dallas, Detroit or Colorado yet, a victory over Phoenix -- second place to the Stars in the Pacific -- was a start.

"Phoenix is a great hockey club," Flyers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck said. "I think we were prepared throughout the day for this. I think (coach) Roger Neilson mentioned several times today how important this game was."

LeClair, on pace for his fourth straight 50-goal season, avoided a season-long scoring drought with his first goals in four games. The first was vintage LeClair as the left wing skated behind the net and poked in a rebound to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead.

After former Flyer Rick Tocchet scored his 400th career goal to cut it to 3-2 with 15:5 left in the third, LeClair took a pass from Eric Desjardins near the Flyers' blue line and skated all the way in for a breakaway. He beat Nikolai Khabibulin on the glove side for a 4-2 Philadelphia lead with 14:16 left.

"I looked up, saw Johnny right there, so I gave it to him," Desjardins said.

Tocchet was pushed in front of the net, but managed to tip Shane Doan's pass past Vanbiesbrouck as he fell to cut Philadelphia's lead to 3-2 with 4:09 left in the third period.

"I just got a stick on it, and it was one of those bang-bang plays," said Tocchet, who scored 215 goals for the Flyers from 1984-92. "Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't."

LeClair missed a hat trick when he was ruled in the crease and had a goal waved off after Tocchet's goal. He got the goal back with the breakaway later on the same shift.

"He's such a competitor, it takes a special player," said linemate Keith Jones, who had his eighth goal -- the 100th of his career -- and added an assist. "Some guys could wait 10 games, but John wanted to get it back right away."

Then, a tight, physical game got ugly. Phoenix's Jim Cummins got a two-minute roughing penalty and a game misconduct for overpowering two officials while trying to fight Roman Vopat. Angry that Dan McGillis' cross-check wasn't called, Cummins wrestled Vopat to the ice and kept swinging despite the efforts of linesmen Mark Pare and Dan Schachte to pull him off.

Referee Paul Devorski intervened and escorted Cummins off the ice.

Valeri Zelepukin scored his eighth goal after intercepting a bad pass by Jeremy Roenick, giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead with 4:41 left in the second.

"We had some chances, but still they deserved to win the game," Coyotes forward Keith Tkachuk said. "We're playing a kind of disappearing act right now, and it's killing us. I really don't know what to say."

Vanbiesbrouck, who left Philadelphia's last game after a hard collision with the goal post, stopped 23 of 25 shots. Juha Ylonen scored his fifth goal for the Coyotes, and Tocchet had his 15th of the season.

Philadelphia forward Alexandre Daigle was benched for the second straight game after nixing a trade to Edmonton by refusing to sign a one-year extension for $1 million with the Oilers.

The Coyotes missed a chance to go 14 games above .500 for the first time sinc1985, when they were the Winnipeg Jets.

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