FLYERS NEWS

Antero Niittymaki got his 2nd start in a row in goal tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers for the first time this season and he made it count, saving 27 of the 28 shots he faced to spirit the Flyers to victory. Midway through the 1st period ubertalent Ilya Kovalchuk scored to put Atlanta ahead 1-0 early. From there it was all Orange and Black for the rest of the night. Early in the 2nd period Steve Downie scored to tie it at 1. Then late in the period Jeff Carter scored twice(one power play goal and one even strength goal), and Scott Hartnell slapped in a shorthanded goal in the final second of the period for a 4-1 Flyers lead. The 3rd period was scoreless as Niittymaki tightened up in goal, and the Flyers got the 4-1 victory. So the Flyers improve to 21-15-4 overall and jump to 3rd place in the Atlantic division.