Philadelphia gave Neilson a rousing ovation to encourage him in his fight against bone marrow cancer, and his team rewarded him with one of its most impressive victories of the season.

  John LeClair scored the tying goal and set up Mark Recchi for the winner 1:43 later as the Philadelphia Flyers beat Phoenix 5-3 on Thursday night.

  "That was probably the most exciting game of the year for everyone, and I know one team was really pumped at the end of the game," said Neilson, whose team won for the first time in three tries since he announced he has bone marrow cancer.

  The Flyers, playing without injured captain Eric Lindros, extended the league's best current home winning streak to 10 games (9-0-1). They haven't lost at home since Oct. 26.

  Philadelphia scored three times in the final 2:19, helping ease the memory of several third-period collapses earlier in the season.

  The comeback came on a night when fans and players on both teams showed Neilson they are with him in his fight.

  At the first stoppage of play, Neilson was shown on the giant screen above the ice. The applause gradually built, and Neilson appeared not to notice at first.

  But referees stopped play for a moment as players on both benches cracked their sticks on the boards -- hockey language for applause.

  "Knowing that all the people here are behind you and pulling for you is a great feeling," said Neilson, scheduled to begin chemotherapy Monday for multiple myeloma, a bone marrow disease similar to leukemia.

  While the Coyotes joined the cheers, they were in no mood for camaraderie at the end of the evening. Keith Tkachuk had his fourth two-goal game of the season, but Phoenix lost its season-high fourth straight and fifth in six games.

  The Flyers improved to 3-1 this season without Lindros, who hopes to return from a bruised left hand Saturday against Tampa Bay.

  Recchi had a goal and two assists, extending the league's longest current points streak to 11 games. He took over the NHL lead with 29 assists. Philadelphia outshot Phoenix 38-17, although Coyotes coach Bob Francis disagreed.

  "I think whoever was keeping track of that had a stuttering problem," Francis said. "Every time the puck touched (Bob) Essensa, they gave them a shot."

  Jody Hull capped Philadelphia's comeback with an empty-net goal with 29 seconds left, setting off a melee in front of the Phoenix bench that resulted in Coyotes star Jeremy Roenick getting a game misconduct.

  Recchi's go-ahead goal, his 15th, was set up by Dallas Drake's roughing penalty on Daymond Langkow, who flipped Drake near center ice seconds earlier but wasn't called.

  "You just don't make calls like that with two minutes left in the game," Drake said. "I'm just disappointed. I'd like to say more, but I'm not going to."

  Said Recchi, "He retaliates. We knew they had some guys who retaliate. You have to be more disciplined than that."

  The Flyers, who have the league's best power play, were only 2-for-7 but saved their best for last.

  Dan McGillis, who earlier scored his third goal of the season, took a cross-ice pass from Recchi at the left point. He passed to LeClair, who wrapped a pass to a cutting Recchi for the go-ahead goal.

  LeClair's tying goal came after Recchi won a faceoff and got the puck to Keith Jones, who earlier scored his second goal of the season after coming back from knee surgery. Philadelphia tied it moments after killing Valeri Zelepukin's four-minute high-sticking penalty.

  "They did a great job," LeClair said. "You've got to have faith in your penalty killers that they're going to kill it off."

  Tkachuk scored the first goal of the game on the Coyotes' first shot, breaking in on a two-on-one and flipping a pass from Roenick passed a helpless John Vanbiesbrouck. The Flyers had a 6-1 edge in shots, but trailed 1-0.

  McGillis tied it with his third goal, putting in a rebound with 10:13 left in the first.

  Tkachuk struck again 33 seconds into the second with a shot from the circle off a pass from Jyrki Lumme on a power play, making it 2-1.

  Drake gave Phoenix a 3-1 lead with his sixth goal, getting a loose puck at the side of the crease and flipping it into a near-empty net with 8:22 left in the period.

Summary

-----------------------------
Phoenix              1 2 0--3	 
Philadelphia         1 1 3--5	 
-----------------------------	 

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Phoenix, Tkachuk 13 (Roenick), 7:02. 2,
Philadelphia, Mcgillis 3 (power play) (Langkow, Zelepukin), 9:47.
Penalties: Neckar, Pho (interference), 2:23; Gill, Pho (Obstr holding),
7:59; Delmore, Phi (cross checking), 18:43.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Phoenix, Tkachuk 14 (power play) (Roenick,
Lumme), 0:33. 4, Phoenix, Drake 6 (Carney), 11:38. 5, Philadelphia, Jones
2 (Recchi, Leclair), 19:03. Penalties: Tkachuk, Pho (tripping), 6:38;
Doan, Pho (interference), 12:34; Roenick, Pho (roughing), 14:42.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Philadelphia, Leclair 16 (Jones, Recchi),
17:12. 7, Philadelphia, Recchi 15 (power play) (Leclair, Mcgillis), 18:55.
8, Philadelphia, Hull 5 (empty net) (unassisted), 19:31. Penalties:
Recchi, Phi (high sticking), 4:18; Tkachuk, Pho (interference), 10:37;
Zelepukin, Phi ( double high sticking minor), 12:39; Drake, Pho
(roughing), 18:03; Drake, Pho (misconduct), 18:55; Roenick, Pho ( game
misconduct), 19:31; Langkow, Phi (roughing), 19:31.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------	 
Phoenix               7  7  3--17
Philadelphia         16 12 10--38
---------------------------------	 

Power-play Conversions: Pho - 1 of 5, Phi - 2 of 7.  Goalies: Phoenix,
Essensa (37 shots, 33 saves; record: 9-3-1). Philadelphia, Vanbiesbrouck
(17, 14; record: 13-8-4).  A:19,571.  Referee: B Mccreary. Linesmen:
Amell, Collins.

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