Flyers 5, Thrashers 1

<p>Antero Niittymaki had 20 saves in the second start of his NHL career, helping the Philadelphia Flyers rally from an 0-1 deficit to beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-1 Thursday night.</p><p>Simon Gagne, Mark Recchi, Sami Kapanen and Tony Amonte scored in the second period for the Flyers, 5-0-1 in their last six road games.</p><p>Serge Aubin had a goal for the Thrashers, winless in eight games. Ilya Kovalchuk, voted in as a starter in Sundays All-Star game, was benched in the second period after his turnover led to Gagnes goal.</p><p>Niittymaki, a 23-year-old Finn, won for the second straight night in place of Robert Esche, expected to miss at least three weeks with a sprained left knee. Jeff Hackett, Philadelphias other experienced goalie, is sidelined indefinitely by vertigo.</p><p>After Gagnes goal tied it at 1, the Flyers broke open the game by scoring twice in 32 seconds. Recchi beat Pasi Nurminen over the shoulder from near the end line with the Flyers on the power play at 12:54, a goal that gave him an eight-game point streak.</p><p>Kapanen then sent a floating shot from the slot over Nurminen to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead at 13:26, and Amonte completed the second-period rally when he was credited with a goal that actually bounced in off Atlanta defenseman Frantisek Kaberle with 42 seconds left.</p><p>John LeClair completed the scoring with a wrist shot from the slot with 23.4 seconds remaining in the game.</p><p>Notes:@ Atlanta rookie defenseman Garnet Exelby wont be taking part in this weekends YoungStars game, part of the NHLs All-Star weekend festivities after sustaining a bone bruise on his left ankle when he took a shot during the morning skate Thursday. Exelby had been cleared to play against Philadelphia after missing six games with a hip contusion. ... Hackett is scheduled to play Friday night for the Flyers AHL affiliate to see if he has recovered sufficiently from positional vertigo to rejoin the NHL team. If he shows no symptoms he will start for the Flyers in their first game after the All-Star break on Tuesday.</p>

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