Detroit, MI (Sports Network) – Brian Boucher celebrated his 34th birthday by stopping 25-of-27 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers erased more than 22 years of frustration in Detroit with a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
James van Riemsdyk, Dan Carcillo and Scott Hartnell notched second-period scored for the Flyers, who nearly wasted a three-goal lead but posted their first win — regular season or playoffs — in the Motor City since November 4, 1988.
Philadelphia had gone 0-16-2 since then, including two losses in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals.
With the victory, the Flyers tied idle Pittsburgh atop the Atlantic Division with 53 points, and joined the Penguins and Red Wings atop the NHL standings.
Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg tallied in the third period for the Red Wings, who have dropped consecutive one-goal decisions on home ice.
Jimmy Howard suffered the loss, pulled after allowing three goals on 27 shots in two periods. Chris Osgood finished the game by halting all five shots he faced.