Hedberg ends Flyers jinx with shutout

November 29, 4:05 AMAtlanta Thrashers ExaminerPhil Foley

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Johan Hedberg stops Matt Carle in Atlanta's 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.

(AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

The Atlanta Thrashers’ stretch of Flyers futility is finally finished.

Johan Hedberg steered aside 34 shots, leading Atlanta to a 1-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night at Philips Arena.

Richard Peverley tallied the lone goal for the Thrashers, who snapped an incredible 14-game losing streak against Philadelphia.

“I wasn't aware it was 14,” Atlanta coach John Anderson told reporters in his post-game press conference broadcast on atlantathrashers.com. “But it's not 14 any longer.”

Irrespective of the clubs’ record, the Thrashers have had no success in solving the Flyers, who had beaten Atlanta every since time they faced each other since a Thrashers overtime win on November 18, 2005.

Atlanta’s home futility stretched back to the pre-lockout days: December 21, 2003.

That is until Saturday night in Blueland.

Hedberg displayed cat-like reflexes throughout this one, stopping shot-after-shot by many a Flyers player, including point blank shots from James Van Riemsdiek and Mike Richards.

Couple Hedberg’s heroics with one-timer from the left faceoff circle with the two-man advantage 11:07 into the middle session by Peverley and the jinx was finally history.

“What's really special about (Hedberg) is not just he made great saves, but he was like a third defensemen out there,” Anderson said. He kept stopping the puck and moving it. Philadelphia is a bit of a dump and chase team. If they can't get a forecheck on you, it makes things difficult.”

It was not the prettiest of wins for the Thrashers, who were outshot, 34-18, by the Flyers and mustered just three shots each in the first and third periods.

But give these Thrashers the lead and they don’t lose. Atlanta improved to 9-0-0 when scoring first and 10-0-0 when leading or tied after two periods.

“It's kind of bizarre,” Anderson said of Atlanta’s success when scoring first. “Every team that I've coached takes on nuisances. I guess this is one of them. Hopefully, it continues. We'll be working hard to be scoring the first goal every game.”

Both teams came out with a bit of a chip on their shoulders. Eric Boulton wasted no time dueling after missing the last two games as a healthy scratch and outlasted Riley Cote in an extended fight 129 seconds into the contest before tempers really flared early in the middle session.

Colby Armstrong and van Riemsdyk pestered one another to start the frame with the Philadelphia forward cross-checking Armstrong during the opening faceoff.

After van Riemsdyk took control of the puck in the Philadelphia zone, he was checked by Zach Bogosian. Armstrong took a long vengeful run at the rookie forward, who appeared to cut himself in the collision.

Tough guy Arron Asham immediately came to the defense of his teammate, pummeling Armstrong to the ice. Armstrong was given a charging major, a fighting major and a game misconduct for his actions, while Asham got instigator and fighting penalties.

The Thrashers were short a man for three minutes as a result.

But Atlanta had the Moose in net. The Atlanta netminder shut the door on the power play and anything else that the Flyers tossed at him en route to his first shutout of the season and 12th of his NHL career.

Oh yeah, he also ended that little Flyers hex, too. Not a bad day at the office for Hedberg and the Thrashers, who improved to 7-1-2 since the return of Ilya Kovalchuk.

“Fortunately tonight, Moose was the No. 1 star and you saw some special goaltending tonight,” Anderson said. “It was a pretty good game overall.”