Huberdeau leads Panthers to 5-2 win over Flyers

[February 22, 2013]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Jonathan Huberdeau and Peter Mueller each had two goals to help the Florida Panthers snap a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

Tomas Kopecky also scored for Florida, which was 0-2-3 since a 3-2 shootout victory in Philadelphia on Feb. 7. Scott Clemmensen, who backs up Jose Theodore, stopped 32 shots to earn his first win since April 7.

Luke Schenn and Jakub Voracek scored Philadelphia's goals in the third period.

The Flyers came out flat one night after a wild 6-5 win at Pittsburgh. It didn't help when they learned before the game that center Matt Read will miss six weeks because he tore rib cage muscles when hit by the Penguins' Chris Kunitz. Read leads Philadelphia with seven goals and is a key contributor on the power-play and penalty-kill units.

The Panthers, who came in with the third-fewest points in the NHL, quickly took advantage of Philadelphia's emotional letdown. Mueller and Kopecky scored 29 seconds apart in the first period to give Florida a 2-0 lead.

Huberdeau set up the first goal by threading a give-and-go pass between two defenders to Mueller, who fired a shot over goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's shoulder. A bad turnover by the Flyers then led to a breakaway for Kopecky, who wristed a shot past Bryzgalov.

Things didn't get better for the mercurial Bryzgalov after coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout.

Huberdeau, who scored the winning goal against Bryzgalov in the shootout win two weeks ago, had a breakaway moments later. The 19-year-old rookie got yanked down from behind by Kimmo Timonen, setting up a penalty shot. He scored on a nifty backhander to make it 3-0.

Bryzgalov wasn't too happy after allowing the goal. While sitting on the ice, Bryzgalov tossed his stick over the net and off the glass. He didn't get a reaction from teammates or the crowd.

Huberdeau ended Bryzgalov's night midway through the second period when he scored a power-play goal to give Florida a 4-0 lead.

Brian Boucher replaced Bryzgalov, who threw his stick down the tunnel after he left the ice.

Fans were so eager to cheer for something that they chanted "Boosh" after Florida's Tomas Fleischmann missed the net on a breakaway shot.

Schenn snapped Clemmensen's shutout bid with 6:08 left. After Mueller netted his second goal, Voracek scored his fourth in two games to cut the Flyers' deficit to 5-2.

NOTES: The Flyers fell to 8-10-1 with their first loss in three games. ... The Panthers won the season series 2-1 after losing 7-1 at home to the Flyers on Jan. 26. ... Huberdeau recorded his second two-goal game. ... It was Clemmensen's first shutout since Nov. 15, 2011 at Dallas. ... Voracek has eight points in the last three games.

[Associated Press; By ROB MAADDI]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.