Flyers cut Cup star goalie

Times wires
Monday, January 3, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers waived goaltender Michael Leighton on Monday, meaning Philadelphia, tied for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Penguins, will go with Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Leighton, 29, a key in Philadelphia's run to the Stanley Cup final last season, had back surgery in October and played in one game this season, a 7-4 win over the Kings last week.

In the playoffs last season, Leighton went 8-3 in the postseason, with a .916 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average. That run helped him to sign a two-year, $3.1 million extension last summer, just before free agency began. But his herniated disk forced him to miss most of this season, and Bobrovsky, a relative unknown, began to make a name for himself. He is 15-6, and Boucher is 8-4.

Winter classic: Television ratings were up even though the start of Saturday's Capitals-Penguins game was delayed from 1 to 8 p.m. The outdoor game at Heinz Field earned a 2.3 rating and 4 share on NBC, a 10 percent increase from last year's overtime game between the Flyers and Bruins at Fenway Park and the most-watched regular-season NHL game since a Flyers-Rangers matchup in 1975.

Game highlights: Bryan Allen scored the winner 1:16 into overtime, a quick slap shot from the boards that surprised goalie Cam Ward on the glove side, and the Panthers beat the Hurricanes 4-3. Florida improved to 6-25-2 all time at the RBC Center. … Marc Savard scored the tiebreaking goal and Tuukka Rask stopped 36 shots to lead the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the Maple Leafs in the finale of 3-0-2 road trip. Rask turned away several good chances by former Bruins star Phil Kessel,

Panthers	1	1	1	1	4
at Hurricanes	1	0	2	0	3

Panthers	1	1	1	1	4
at Hurricanes	1	0	2	0	3

First Period—1, Carolina, Dalpe 2 (Bodie), 15:47. 2, Florida, Wideman 3 (Stillman, Dvorak), 19:27. Penalties—Kulikov, Fla (holding), 2:46.

Second Period—3, Florida, Higgins 7 (Kulikov, Frolik), 11:57. Penalties—Garrison, Fla (tripping), :14; Gleason, Car (tripping), 4:35.

Third Period—4, Florida, Stillman 4 (Santorelli, Dadonov), 5:11. 5, Carolina, Boychuk 3 (Cole, E.Staal), 6:05. 6, Carolina, Harrison 1 (Cole, McBain), 9:42. Penalties—Higgins, Fla, double minor (high-sticking), 4:12; Gleason, Car, double minor (high-sticking), 4:12; Reasoner, Fla (hooking), 12:39.

Overtime—7, Florida, Allen 3 (Matthias, Frolik), 1:16. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Florida 10-11-6-1—28. Carolina 8-12-16-1—37. Power-play opportunities—Florida 0 of 1; Carolina 0 of 3. Goalies—Florida, Clemmensen 3-4-1 (37 shots-34 saves). Carolina, Ward 17-11-4 (28-24). A—16,637 (18,680). T—2:23.

Bruins	0	2	0	2
at Maple Leafs	1	0	1	1

First Period—1, Toronto, Grabovski 14 (Schenn), 14:08. Penalties—Komisarek, Tor (interference), 2:14.

Second Period—2, Boston, Horton 12 (Seidenberg), 7:56. 3, Boston, Savard 2 (Horton, Lucic), 15:30. Penalties—Seidenberg, Bos (cross-checking), :20; Savard, Bos (roughing), 10:35; MacArthur, Tor (roughing), 10:35.

Third Period—None. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Boston 7-17-9—33. Toronto 11-8-18—37. Power-play opportunities—Boston 0 of 1; Toronto 0 of 1. Goalies—Boston, Rask 3-7-1 (37 shots-36 saves). Toronto, Reimer 1-1-0 (33-31). A—19,052 (18,819). T—2:26.

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