NHL Rapid start propels Flyers

Three fast goals helped bury the Lightning, 6-2.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Philadelphia Flyers made Nikolai Khabibulin look ordinary, maybe even worse.
Playing with a greater sense of urgency after losing the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals, the Flyers evened the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night with a 6-2 victory.
Philadelphia scored three times in the first 12 minutes and finished off Khabibulin with a fourth goal early in the second period.
The Lightning pulled their goalie rather than risk damaging his confidence for the remainder of the series.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Philadelphia, where the Flyers are 6-0 in the postseason.
Reversal expected
Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock expects Khabibulin to revert to the form that helped Tampa Bay breeze through the first two rounds of the playoffs and win Game 1 of the conference finals.
"This is the playoffs. You learn to just drop it and move on," Hitchcock said.
That's exactly what the Flyers did after the opener.
Philadelphia dominated the first half of Game 1, but faltered in the final 30 minutes because of defensive miscues and an inability to score more than once against Khabibulin, who had allowed 10 in 10 games before Monday night.
"We knew we had to win road games to win this series, but we had to drop it and move on from a pretty disappointing Game 1 loss," Hitchcock said. "That's just what the playoffs are about."
LeClair triggers outburst
John LeClair, Mark Recchi and Sami Kapanen scored in the first period, and Robert Esche stopped 29 shots. Vladimir Malakhov's goal ended Khabibulin's night with 13:58 remaining in the second.
"I think it's pretty obvious why I pulled him," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella said. "There's no sense of scarring him up any more."
The Lightning are confident Khabibulin, 9-2 in the playoffs, will bounce back in Game 3.
"It's not total goals, it's one game," Tampa Bay center Brad Richards said. "You don't get to the Eastern Conference finals and play against a team like that and expect to just waltz through the series."
In addition to stopping Tampa Bay's eight-game winning streak in the playoffs, the Flyers halted an eight-game slide against the Lightning that included four losses during the regular season and a 3-1 setback in Game 1 Saturday.