Panthers bite Senators on late Huselius goal

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes are playing a game within a game these days against some of the best teams from the Eastern Conference.

Sean Hill had a goal and two assists, and Arturs Irbe matched Carolina's franchise record with his 115th victory in goal as the Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 Thursday.

Carolina is 2-1 at the start of a six-game stretch that has included a 4-2 victory at New Jersey five days ago and then a domination of the Flyers.

"We're looking at these six games as pressure games, where the margin of error is very thin," said Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice, who said his club is measuring itself against some of its top postseason competition.

Carolina heads to Boston on Saturday, then plays Ottawa and New Jersey before its schedule breaks.

The Flyers had a chance to tie Boston for most points in the Eastern Conference, but the Atlantic Division leaders appeared tired after beating the New York Rangers on Wednesday and were outskated by the Hurricanes.

"They skated well, but we allowed that," Flyers coach Bill Barber said. "Our energy level was low."

The Hurricanes' victory snapped a six-game skid against Philadelphia and moved the Hurricanes closer to their second Southeast Division title in four years. Carolina is now eight points ahead of second-place Washington with eight regular-season games left.

"We were very good and they were a little bit tired, but that's the way the schedule is supposed to even out," Maurice said.

Irbe tied the franchise mark of Mike Liut, who won his 115 games for the former Hartford Whalers from 1985-90. Irbe lost his shutout with 7:04 left when Kim Johnsson scored on the power play.

"Beating the Flyers is even more special because they've had our number this season," Irbe said.

In addition to Hill, the Hurricanes also got a big game from 21-year-old rookie Jaroslav Svoboda, who scored a goal and had an assist in his second NHL start.

Svoboda's goal late in the second period triggered two fights that resulted in game misconducts for Philadelphia's Billy Tibbetts and Chris McAllister and Carolina's Craig Adams.

"I don't think the fans have ever seen a bad game against the Philadelphia Flyers," Maurice said. "They've been full of emotion and fights and great battles. In some ways a bit of a rivalry has been built since the trade of a couple of years ago and our guys really respond to it."

The two teams swapped Rod Brind'Amour and Keith Primeau in the middle of the 1999-2000 season when Primeau and the Hurricanes couldn't come to terms on a contract.

Sami Kapanen and Brind'Amour put the Hurricanes up 2-0 with power-play goals before Hill and Svoboda scored less than three minutes apart to give Carolina a four-goal lead.

The goals came against Neil Little, making his NHL debut after 10 years in the minors.

Little, who had been called up seven different times this season alone and had been a backup in 43 previous NHL games, had to be sharp early as the Flyers were outshot 11-1 and took three first-period penalties.

"I just feel privileged to represent the Flyers," the 30-year-old Little said. "I felt fortunate that after all this time that I finally could get in there and enjoy the moment. I did the best I possibly could."

Maurice said he wasn't comfortable leading just 1-0 after one period.

"I was a little concerned that we dominated the first period and he was making some good saves," Maurice said of Little. "I was wondering how hot he was going to stay for the rest of the night."

Simon Gagne's shot from just inside the blue line with 3:56 left in the period and the Flyers shorthanded was the only offense Philadelphia could generate. The one shot in the period matched a season low and tied a franchise record, set four other times.

Kapanen gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with 7:43 left in the first and John LeClair off for high-sticking. Kapanen's shot from 30 feet hit the crossbar then bounced off the back of Little and into the net before defenseman Dan McGillis had a chance to clear the puck from the crease.

NOTES: The lengthy list of injured Senators was Mike Fisher (shoulder), Zdeno Chara (flu), Jody Hull (shoulder), Steve Martins (knee), Ricard Persson (leg), Karel Rachunek (shoulder) and Petr Schastlivy (knee). . . . The Panthers' contingent of ailing was nearly as lengthy, with Roberto Luongo (ankle), Valeri Bure (knee), Ryan Johnson (concussion), Paul Laus (wrist), Viktor Kozlov (abdomen), Lance Ward (concussion) and Joey Tetarenko (back) sitting out. . . . Panthers right winger Ivan Novoseltsev left the match in the first period with a stiff lower back and did not return.