Dvorak helps Panthers skate past Flyers, 4-2

SUNRISE, Fla. — Radek Dvorak broke a tie with a short-handed goal at 7:02 of the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Friday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton and Steven Reinprecht also scored to help the Panthers (2-4) avoid the worst six-game start in franchise history.

Scott Clemmensen stopped 25 shots in his first start for Florida. Signed as a free agent in the offseason, he didn’t start after Feb. 18 last season with New Jersey.

Arron Asham and Claude Giroux scored for Philadelphia. The Flyers have lost three straight after starting the season 3-0. Ray Emery, who has started every game in goal for Philadelphia, made 23 saves.

The Flyers played for the first time since a 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim on Saturday night. They spent most of the week in South Florida and had a boat race Tuesday and a deep-sea fishing tournament Wednesday.

With David Booth in the penalty box for tripping, Dvorak scored on a breakaway for his second short-handed goal in two games. He grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone after Chris Pronger failed to keep a Florida clearing attempt in the offensive zone. With Simon Gagne chasing him, Dvorak managed to flip a short forehand shot that went off Emery’s stick.

Philadelphia led 2-1 until the final minute of the second period when Horton tipped Jordan Leopold’s shot from the point while standing in front of the net.

Giroux had given the Flyers the lead at 12:14 of the second when his wrist shot sneaked through between Clemmensen’s body and his left arm and barely crossed the goal line before defenseman Keith Ballard swiped it away. The goal was confirmed after video review.

Asham opened the scoring 6:35 into the game after James van Riemsdyk stripped the puck from Weiss in the Florida zone. Asham grabbed the loose puck to the right of Clemmensen and beat him with a backhander to the short side.

Philadelphia led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes and also hit the post twice in the period.

Weiss redeemed himself by tying the game with a power-play goal at 6:49 of the second. He beat Emery with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.

NOTES: The worst six-game start in Panthers history came in 2001-02 at 1-4-1. ... Dvorak extended his franchise record for most career short-handed goals with his 14th. ... C Dominic Moore made his debut with the Panthers. He was signed as a free agent on Oct. 5, but his arrival was delayed because of visa issues. ... Florida coaches and staff members are wearing commemorative Hockey Fights Cancer to support cancer awareness. ... Flyers LW Simon Gagne, who scored 34 goals last season, remains scoreless in 2009-10. ... Van Riemsdyk returned to the lineup after missing two games because of concussion symptoms.

Thrashers 4, Devils 2

NEWARK, N.J. — Atlanta rookie Evander Kane scored 1:36 into the third period to snap a tie, and Rich Peverley had two power-play goals against Martin Brodeur in the Thrashers’ victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Doing damage without any contributions on the score sheet from captain Ilya Kovalchuk, the Thrashers shook off a 1-0 deficit in the second period. Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves in his fourth straight start in place of injured Kari Lehtonen. At this rate, backup Johan Hedberg might not get a chance to play anytime soon.

Peverley tied it with his first power-play goal of the night, and pushed the lead to two 5:55 into the third with another man-advantage tally. Peverley has four goals this season, three on the power play.

Travis Zajac and Zach Parise scored for the Devils, who had a three-game winning streak broken and fell to 0-3 at home. New Jersey (3-3) swept a three-game trip through the Southeast Division — in which Atlanta is a member — before returning home.

Brodeur, making his sixth consecutive start, stopped 15 shots and fell to 20-9-8 against Atlanta. He had won six of the previous eight (6-1-1). The Thrashers were the opponent last season when Brodeur injured his left elbow and was forced to miss 50 games.

The Devils went 0 for 6 on the power play, including three chances after falling behind. They cut the deficit to 3-2 with 6:50 left on Parise’s goal, but couldn’t build off it.

The Thrashers, who have played the fewest games in the NHL this season, are making the most of their time on ice. Atlanta (3-1) has won two of the first three games of its five-game trip that continues Saturday in Ottawa.

Kane got past Devils defenseman Cory Murphy along the left wing boards and then ripped a shot past Brodeur to make it 2-1. The 18-year-old Kane, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft, has two goals and an assist in his first four games.

The Thrashers tied it 1-1 nearly 7 minutes after Zajac’s goal on their first power-play chance. With the Devils short-handed, following a too many men on the ice penalty, Peverley fired in a rebound of Maxim Afinogenov’s shot with 5:03 left.

Brodeur had stopped 45 straight Atlanta shots in a shutout streak of 126 minutes, 54 seconds over three games before Peverley finally got a puck past him.

Zajac scored for the fourth time in five games, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead 8:07 into the second period.

Sabres 6, Islanders 3

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Clarke MacArthur scored on a penalty shot, Ryan Miller made 36 saves, and Tyler Myers scored his first NHL goal to help keep the Buffalo Sabres undefeated in regulation with a win over the New York Islanders.

Tim Connolly had a goal and assist, and Jochen Hecht, Patrick Kaleta, and Jason Pominville also scored for the Sabres (4-0-1). Myers and MacArthur also had assists.

Matt Moulson had a goal and assist, No. 1 draft pick John Tavares added a goal, and Andy Sutton also scored for the Islanders (0-2-3).

Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson allowed four goals on 12 shots before being pulled in favor of Martin Biron in the second period. Biron finished with 20 saves.

Miller came in having surrendered just five goals in four games, and was particularly sharp in the final two periods when the Islanders peppered him with 30 shots.