PHILADELPHIA - Robert Esche stopped 18 shots and was one of three former Coyotes to lead the Flyers to their 11th consecutive home victory 3-2 against Phoenix on Friday.
The Flyers remained the league's only unbeaten team at home at 12-0-2. The win streak matches the third-longest in team history. Its record is 20 in 1976.
Tony Amonte made it 2-1 in the second. He was set up by Jeremy Roenick's cross-ice pass. Roenick left the Coyotes to sign with the Flyers in 2001. Amonte came over in a trade in March. Esche was traded before last season.
John LeClair gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead with a power-play goal 1:18 into the third. He redirected a pass from Michal Handzus between Sean Burke's legs.
But Andrei Nazarov cut it to 3-2 with his first goal just 16 seconds later. Esche kept it there with a nice save, smothering a shot by Chris Gratton with 27 seconds left.
THRASHERS 6, DUCKS 2: Byron Dafoe won for the first time in 10 months for host Atlanta, which won for just the second time in six games. Dafoe played only his fourth game this season and had not won since a 4-2 victory at New Jersey on Feb. 7. Making his first appearance in 20 days, Dafoe made several dazzling stops among his 35 saves.
Anaheim, the defending West champion, lost its third in a row and has only one win in its past nine. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, last season's playoff MVP who dropped to 4-12-2, was replaced by Martin Gerber after it became 5-1 in the third.
The Ducks lost defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who left in the first after irritating a hip pointer. His status is unknown.
FLAMES 2, WILD 1: Jarome Iginla scored with 22.8 seconds left for host Calgary. The Flames took advantage of a poor line change by the Wild, which lost for the first time in 47 games (42-1-4) when leading after two, a streak that dated to March 5, 2002. Oleg Saprykin moved into the zone and took a slap shot from the dot. Manny Fernandez stopped it, but Iginla put in the rebound.
THRASHERS 6, DUCKS 2: Byron Dafoe won for the first time in 10 months for host Atlanta, which won for just the second time in six games. Dafoe played only his fourth game this season and first in 20 days. He had not won since Feb. 7 against the Devils.
Anaheim has only one win in its past nine. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, last season's playoff MVP who dropped to 4-12-2, was replaced by Martin Gerber after it became 5-1 in the third.
The Ducks lost defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who left in the first after irritating a hip pointer. His status is unknown.
HURRICANES 1, CANADIENS 1: Mike Ribeiro converted a rebound of a shot by Pierre Dagenais on the power play with 5:49 left to give visiting Montreal the tie. Jose Theodore stopped 36 shots for the Canadiens, who are unbeaten in their past four (2-0-2). Yanic Perreault hit the post early in overtime for Montreal, and Theodore swept away a deflected shot from the goal mouth with a minute left.
BLACKHAWKS: Defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev will have surgery to remove bone chips from his ankle and miss about eight weeks. In 18 games, he has seven assists and is minus-11.
BLUE JACKETS: Center Espen Knutsen was sent to the minors and could be traded or play in Europe, assistant general manager Jim Clark said. Knutsen, a former All-Star, has four assists and is a minus-5 in 14 games this season.
CANUCKS: Left wing Markus Naslund, tied for second in the league with 32 points, will miss tonight's game with a groin injury.
FLYERS: Center Claude Lapointe entered the league's substance abuse treatment program to help him deal with depression, the Associated Press reported. Under terms of the program, team officials are forbidden from discussing details. Lapointe has two goals and two assists in 19 games, mostly playing on the fourth line.
PANTHERS: Twelve days after being hit by a puck that broke his orbital bone, defenseman Branislav Mezei still can't see out of his left eye. Florida is optimistic he eventually will regain his vision once the blood disperses from behind his eye. Once that happens, he's expected to make a full recovery.
RANGERS: Forward Jamie Lundmark will miss eight weeks due to two sprained ligaments in his right knee. Lundmark, who has two goals and five assists in 23 games, was injured Thursday when the Islanders' Michael Peca took him out with a leg to leg check in open ice. Peca said there was no intent to injure, and he walked to the Rangers' dressing room to apologize after being ejected for the hit.
STARS: Center Pierre Turgeon was activated from injured reserve. Turgeon, who has a goal and six assists in 21 games, missed two games with a hip strain and is expected to be available tonight.
