Montreal Canadiens 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1
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PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Michael Ryder had a goal and two assists for the Montreal
Canadiens in a 4-1 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. Ryder, who
entered the contest leading all rookies with 20 assists and 33 points, helped
Richard Zednik establish a 2-0 cushion on the power play in the second period,
set up Jan Bulis 4:09 into the third and capped the scoring with his 14th
marker of the season late in the contest. In his last nine games, Ryder,
selected in the eighth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by Montreal, has
seven goals and 15 points. Zednik finished with two power-play scores and
Bulis added an assist for the Canadiens, who improved to 8-1-2 since December
29. Jose Theodore extended his unbeaten streak to four games with 22 saves in
the victory. Robert Esche, who gave up four goals for the first time in his
last 21 starts, registered 18 saves in the loss. Simon Gagne halted a personal
15-game goal-scoring drought with his ninth tally of the season for
Philadelphia, which has lost seven of its last nine games on home ice.