Capitals  5    Flyers  6

Recap: Philadelphia vs. Washington

Sports Network | October 6, 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Danny Briere's tally with 1:08 left in overtime lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-5 decision over the Washington Capitals at Wachovia Center.

Briere worked through checking in front of the Washington crease, finding the rebound of a Kimmo Timonen point shot and lifting it under the crossbar for the game-winner.

Mike Richards posted his second career hat trick for the Flyers, who have won the first three games in a season for the first time since 1998-99.

Matt Carle posted four assists, Scott Hartnell tallied the game-tying score late in regulation and Ray Emery made 31 stops for Philadelphia, which won its home opener in thrilling fashion.

The victory was bittersweet as it was revealed following the game that forward Blair Betts suffered a dislocated right shoulder and will miss a month. In addition, James vanRiemsdyk left the game briefly in the second period but returned despite absorbing a hard hit to his upper body along the boards. He will be evaluated later this week.

"It's good to score goals but we've got to cut down on the turnovers, obviously," noted Richards. "The positive is that we found a way to win the hockey game."

Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin each posted a pair of goals for the Capitals, who failed in their bid to start a season with three consecutive wins for the second time in three years.

Jose Theodore played nearly 30 minutes and suffered the loss after allowing two goals on 16 shots. Starter Semyon Varlamov was pulled after yielding four goals on 25 shots just after the midway point of regulation.

Semin's turn-around shot from the left circle changed direction for a Caps power play goal and 4-4 contest 8:18 into the third period.

Brendan Morrison was credited with Washington's controversial go-ahead goal at 9:32.

Matt Bradley's initial shot was kicked out by Emery but the puck caromed off Morrison's back skate as he tried to stop in the crease. Even though the disc did not hit any part of his stick, the goal was allowed upon a review since it was determined that no distinct kicking motion occurred.

Hartnell, though, managed to sweep a puck past Theodore and a defenseman over the goal line from the slot with 4:15 remaining for a man-advantage score and 5-5 tie.

"We don't want to get involved in a track meet with the Pittsburghs and the Washingtons of the world," said Flyers head coach John Stevens. "I think we're built just a little bit differently, but we do have an exciting offensive team and I think you saw that tonight."

Following a scoreless first period, the Flyers hit the scoreboard 1:17 into the second as Carle faked a shot from the left point and dished down low for Richards, who hit the net from a sharp angle on the right wing.

Ovechkin converted a shot off a 2-on-1 rush at 2:44 to tie the score, but on a delayed penalty call Timonen hit the top corner inside the right post at 4:33.

Ovechkin beat Emery with a backhander for a 2-2 game exactly three minutes later, and Semin danced through a pair of Philly defenders for a 3-2 Washington lead with 7:34 to play in the second.

Richards beat Varlamov through traffic from the right circle with a low shot off the left pipe less than two minutes later for a 3-3 deadlock, then finished off his hat trick 18 seconds later to put the Flyers back on top.

"I wasn't happy with the fact that we turned the puck over in key areas, but I was really happy that we showed a lot of resilience," Stevens added.

Briere got the game-winner on his 32nd birthday...Richards' lone previous three-goal game occurred on February 8, 2006 against the New York Islanders...It was also the earliest Flyers hat trick in franchise history in terms of date and number of games played...John LeClair previously held the mark during his trifecta on October 11, 1997 at Montreal, in the Flyers' sixth game that season...Carle's assists all came in the second period, setting a Flyers franchise mark for defenseman and tying the NHL record set by LA's Rob Blake on January 29, 1998...Washington had won five of six meetings in Philadelphia since the start of the 2006-07 season...Ovechkin notched his 46th career multi-goal game and second in three games this season. He leads the NHL with five goals and nine points...Timonen's goal was his first since December 4, 2008 against the Devils.