Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA ó Eric Lindros stepped out of the dugout to a roar he hadn’t heard in Philadelphia in almost 12 years.
Big E had his standing O.
Lindros pointed his stick toward nearly 49,000 fans and took his long-overdue walk toward the infield ice to join his Flyers teammates. One of the great players in a franchise loaded with them was back in the orange and black.
With a packed Philadelphia crowd standing and going wild in appreciation, Lindros made a triumphant return to the city in a Philadelphia Flyers jersey, a bitter parting more than a decade ago forgotten from the moment No. 88 hit the ice for warmups.
The red reserved for the Phillies at Citizens Bank park gave way to 40,000 fans in Flyers orange ó so many who paid just to see Lindros play in the alumni showcase, a prelude to Monday’s Winter Classic between the Flyers and New York Rangers.
Lindros assisted on the first goal of the game, connecting with former Legion of Doom linemate John LeClair, to help the former Flyers beat the old-time Rangers 3-1 Saturday.
“It really felt special here,” Lindros said. “It’s nice to be back and heading out to restaurants and hearing the well wishes around town. I’m happy to be here and catch up with some people I haven’t seen in a while.”
NHL ROUNDUP
TAMPA, Fla. ó Steven Stamkoshad his second hat trick this season and fifth overall to lift Tampa Bay to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
Carolina, 1-7-2 in Southeast Division games this season, got goals from Justin Faulk and Jay Harrison.
DEVILS 3, PENGUINS 1
NEWARK, N.J. ó Ilya Kovalchuk scored on a penalty shot in the first period and added an assist on David Clarkson’s power-play goal four minutes later and New Jersey ended a four-game winless streak against Pittsburgh.
Martin Brodeur made 29 saves for the Devils, including an improbable glove save on Matt Cooke with four minutes left. It was his 11th win of the season, third straight and his record 636th victory of his career. It was also his 43rd win in 75 games against Pittsburgh.
ISLANDERS 4, OILERS 1
UNIONDALE, N.Y. ó Matt Moulson had a goal and two assists, and John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau both added one of each for New York, which took advantage of Edmonton and shaky goalie Devan Dubnyk.
SENATORS 3, SABRES 2, SO
BUFFALO, N.Y. ó Bobby Butler scored the decisive goal in the fifth round of the shootout to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the slumping Buffalo Sabres.
PANTHERS 3, CANADIENS 2
SUNRISE, Fla.ó Tomas Fleischmann scored two goals, including an empty-netter with 40.2 seconds remaining that ended up being the game-winner in the Florida Panthers’ 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
CAPITALS 4, JACKETS 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Dennis Wideman scored in a 2:53 span of the third period, erasing a 2-0 deficit and leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory.
AVALANCHE 4, DUCKS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. ó Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 18 saves in his first game in Anaheim since the Ducks traded him two years ago, and Milan Hejduk scored two goals.
STARS 4, BRUINS 2
DALLAS ó Michael Ryder and Loui Eriksson scored power-play goals in the first period, and the Dallas Stars ended the Boston Bruins’ seven-game winning streak.
COYOTES 4, WILD 2
ST. PAUL, Minn. ó Radim Vrbata scored a pair of goals two minutes apart early in the third period and Phoenix ended a four-game skid.
OTTAWA ó Hockey coach Scotty Bowman was among 66 notables to receive the Order of Canada.
SUNRISE, Fla. ó The New York Rangers placed veteran forward Sean Avery on waivers.
BASEBALL
SAN DIEGO ó Being traded from the Chicago White Sox to his hometown San Diego Padres couldn’t have been any more convenient for All-Star outfielder Carlos Quentin.
Four years after trading Quentin from Arizona to the White Sox, new Padres general manager Josh Byrnes is bringing him home for two prospects.
CARACAS, Venezuela ó Two-time All-Star Melvin Mora is retiring, five weeks shy of his 40th birthday.
TENNIS
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates ó Novak Djokovic routed Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1 to reach the final of the World Championship exhibition event.
The top-ranked Djokovic finished off the No. 3 Federer in 44 minutes. In the other semifinal, fifth-ranked David Ferrer beat No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2.