Flyers take Game 4 over Chicago to tie up Stanley Cup finals

DANNY BRIERE exhaled, finally.

"It's a big relief," Briere said. "We escaped."

In a span of 8 minutes in the third period last night, a big lead somehow turned into a big relief. The Flyers held a three-goal edge early in the third period and slowly squandered it, leaving nails and minds worn thin at the Wachovia Center.

But Jeff Carter's empty-net goal with 24.6 seconds left gave the Flyers a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals, the first game in the series decided by more than one goal.

And for the first time since the puck dropped in Game 1, the Flyers and Blackhawks are on level ground. The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 tomorrow night at the United Center in Chicago.

Behind three first-period tallies, the Flyers won their second home game in a row in the series after dropping Games 1 and 2 in Chicago.

Now, the Flyers' Stanley Cup dreams are more than a heartbeat. More than a prayer. More than a miracle. They are just two wins away from parading down Broad Street with Lord Stanley's chalice for the first time since 1975.

Despite a close call late, the Flyers are now 7-0 during the playoffs in Games 4-7 of a series.

Mike Richards single-handedly got the Flyers on the board just 4:35 into the first period when he pickpocketed defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson behind Chicago's net and tucked a backhand through Antti Niemi's pads.

Richards' goal came just 5 seconds after Tomas Kopecky was whistled for high-sticking. It was the Flyers' sixth power-play goal of the series.

"It was huge to get that goal," forward Simon Gagne said, referring to the fact that the Flyers have won more than 80 percent of their playoff games when scoring first. "It was a big effort by Mike to take the puck away from their defenseman and put it in."

After Richards' goal, the Blackhawks took over and limited the Flyers' chances for a chunk of 10 minutes. But the Flyers beat Niemi on their next shot, 10:13 after Richards' soft backhand.

Suiting up for his first game after sitting out two as a healthy scratch, James van Riemsdyk started the play by powering around Chicago's net and blasting a spin-around shot. Van Riemsdyk's shot rebounded to Claude Giroux, who tried his own spin-a-rama in front of Niemi. That hit Hjalmarsson's skate and kicked out to a streaking Matt Carle, who one-timed the loose puck into the empty net for his first goal of the playoffs.