Don Brennan:

This time, Martin Havlat responded to being hooked by throwing a punch at Bret Hedican's head. The only punishment he received was from Hedican, who threw one right back. Of course, because it was in the last minute of regulation, no penalties were called.

Havlat's on edge
After seeing Bertuzzi hit, Sens winger feeling lucky

By DON BRENNAN -- Ottawa Sun

CALGARY -- The fine he was hit with for a tomahawk on Byron Ritchie didn't stop him from booting Eric Cairns in the groin. The suspension he received for kicking Cairns didn't prevent him from taking a swipe at Mark Recchi's head.

If the two games he got for swinging at Recchi have made Martin Havlat closely consider the ramifications of his actions, the Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident just may have driven home the point.

"I'm the last guy who should say something ... I did a similar thing two weeks ago," Havlat told reporters looking in the Senators' dressing room yesterday morning for a reaction to the Bertuzzi suspension. "I was just happy I didn't hurt him. If I hurt him, it could be a much different situation.

"It does make me think what could happen .... if, if, if," Havlat added quietly, after the TV cameras and media scrum moved on to other players. "I was reacting after three or four hooks. I got frustrated and I reacted that way and it wasn't a good way. I wanted to give a warning ... I'm lucky I didn't hit his face.

"There are a lot of ifs."

Players look each other in the eye then swing away in every NHL game without causing serious injury. They are the fortunate ones. Defencemen and goalies hit forwards parked at the edge of the crease from behind all the time -- either with punches or elbows or sticks -- and nobody gets seriously injured. They are also lucky.

REMINDER TO PLAYERS

Moore and Bertuzzi are examples of the worst-case scenario. Of what can happen. If that punch lands a couple of inches either way, no damage is done at all. All you get is a big pile of players tugging and poking at each other. Instead, a single moment of time at GM Place on Monday night is now to serve as reminder to all players of what could happen every time they rear back and swing at each other. A reminder that the punched and the puncher can feel the pain.

"It's unfortunate to see what happened to both the guys," said Peter Schaefer. "You don't want to see a guy get injured like that, and also for another guy to go through everything (Bertuzzi) is going to go through. Todd doing it, he's going to miss a lot of hockey and hurt their hockey club."

Was the suspension harsh enough? Does the time fit the crime? Daniel Alfredsson thinks so.

"I think they dealt with it in a good way," said the Senators captain, who is also an NHLPA vice-president. "As a player, it's tough to say what goes into their criteria in making the decision. Colin Campbell has done a good job previously, and they sent a strong message suspending him for the playoffs. It's a small line, that a player can cross and snap and do something he wouldn't normally do. There are a lot of games, a lot of pressure on a professional athlete, and it can happen. But I think this sends a message."

Whether it's because of the tight playoff race or not, Marian Hossa notes things have been getting a little out of hand lately.

"Definitely, we just have to show more respect to each other," he said. "The last few months have been really violent in the NHL. I've never seen it like that before. The league, the players and also the referees have to do something about it."

If the Bertuzzi-Moore incident doesn't deter some of the craziness predicted for the April 2 Ottawa-Philadelphia game, Hossa says the officials can.

"There are going to be two referees and they have to call it right from the beginning," he said. "Whatever it's going to be ... you know, the slashing and the little things. Like it used to be last year, at the beginning. That was great."

Alfredsson said this one, isolated incident shouldn't change the way the game is played in the NHL, though. The physical aspect, the intensity ....

"It should be a hard-fought game," he said. "I think that's what makes it so great."

New Calgary Flame Chris Simon says it's most important to think of the victim right now. He was a New York Rangers teammate of Steve Moore's brother Dom earlier this year. He says "the main thing is that Steve has a great recovery ... I just hope the best for him and his family."

Both Simon and the Senators' Chris Neil have "stick up for teammates" written on their job description.

"But in my line of work I'm not punching a guy from behind," said Neil. "You've got to be able to face the guy and go at it that way."

Said Simon: "I'm still going to play the way I do. That was the worst thing that could have happened. It's easy to stand here and diagnose everything that went on, but when you're out there, sometimes you do things that you don't mean to do."

But Chris Phillips says the Bertuzzi suspension, as debatable in the length and terms as it may be, it should "make all the players in the league take a second thought about their actions."

Havlat is one of those players.

"I'm trying to do my best every game, playing a little bit on the edge," he said. "Two weeks ago I didn't do the right thing and I didn't play two games because of it. It's a tough game, a great game. We've got to make our decisions pretty quick, every shift, every second. But sometimes it's pretty hard when there's a lot of things going on in the shift."

And in those instances, if a guy can't control himself, he'd better hope he's one of the lucky ones.

Kara Yorio / Sporting News
Height, weight: 6-1, 194
Age: 22

The Senators have the best right side in the NHL. Employing Marian Hossa and Daniel Alfredsson would be enough for most teams, but the Senators also have the dangerous and talented Havlat on their third line. Havlat struggled earlier this season after not signing a contract until October 11, but he has picked up his production. entering the week, he had 25 goals and 30 assists in 52 games.

Strengths: Havlat is fast, particularly in sprints, and has superior stick-handling skills. He is excellent one-on-one. He creates highlight-reel goals and can score in the clutch. The skill, willingness and confidence to take risks with the puck comes from his upbringing in the Czech Republic, according to another Czech winger and conference rival, which encourages creativity with the puck.

Havlat is responsible and plays hard on the defensive side. He uses not only his shot, which is very accurate, but also his teammates. Havlat is versatile, able to play all three forward positions, and is a power-play threat. He has an edge to his game and is good at drawing retaliatory penalties.

Weaknesses: If he isn't using his speed, Havlat can be ineffective. Somewhat slight for his height, he can be contained or at least limited by big hits. He has been bothered by groin injuries during his career, which could worsen as he gets older. He isn't as effective if he doesn't get enough minutes.

"In the games when he plays a lot, he puts up the numbers," says the rival winger. In his first 10 games of playing fewer than 15 minutes, Havlat had three goals and four assists -- an average of 0.7 points per game. His average in the games in which he played more than 15 minutes was 1.15 ppg.

Bottom line: "No question, he's a first-line guy on other teams," says the Eastern Conference winger. "You have to pay attention to him as much as Hossa and Alfredsson."

Revenge is not so sweet

Retaliation against the Senators' Havlat isn't on the Flyers' minds. Winning is.

By Tim Panaccio

Inquirer Staff Writer

Revenge is ours, sayeth Hitch.

The Flyers host the Ottawa Senators tonight, and Martin Havlat "The Horrible" is expected to return from his two-game suspension for high-sticking the Flyers' Mark Recchi across his face shield in a 1-1 tie Feb. 26.

Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock ripped Havlat after that game, saying that someone needed to make him "eat his lunch."

So, it's lunchtime in Philly?

"No," Hitchcock said yesterday. "We have a hockey game to win. Yeah, win the game. That's the best statement we can make rather than worry about an agenda."

Havlat had the flu yesterday but practiced and said he intended to play.

"He has the Philly flu?" quipped Flyers enforcer Todd Fedoruk.

Both Fedoruk and Donald Brashear were sidelined with left knee injuries in last week's game, and the Flyers think that players like Havlat take liberties when the Flyers' enforcers are not on the ice.

"Guys get a little braver and play a little chippier and take free range," Fedoruk said. "With both of us out, you could definitely see it with a lot of teams. You'll see a difference [tonight], how some guys will be shying away, and it will be quieter with us in the lineup."

Fedoruk and Brashear both said yesterday they won't lose their focus on the importance of this game just to exact revenge against Havlat. Ottawa, with 84 points, is two points behind the Flyers in the overall Eastern Conference standings.

In terms of matchups, neither Brashear nor Fedoruk is likely to be on the ice with Havlat unless Hitchcock matches them for that purpose. If there is any payback, it will likely come from Recchi, who probably will match up against Havlat.

"We have a game to win," Recchi said. "I can't hurt my team. Whatever they choose to do as a team with him is fine. Obviously, he is good hockey player. But he has done some things in his short career that bother people in the league... . He won't be a distraction. We have a job to do here."

Following last week's tie, Hitchcock called Havlat "a reckless player" and vowed that someone somewhere would pay him back for the numerous questionable and dirty hits he's laid out in the NHL in less than four full seasons.

Yesterday, Senators defenseman Todd Simpson took a shot at Hitchcock.

"He was standing up for his team," Simpson said. "But I thought it was a little silly, especially since he's not the one who has to do anything [about it on the ice]."

Hitchcock took umbrage that Simpson thought the coach would not step on the ice.

"That is what a coach is supposed to do - to stand up for his team, which is what I did," Hitchcock said. "I'd love to get on the ice. But then maybe some of my own players would want to beat me up."

Most of the Flyers think the biggest statement they can make in this game is to win. Ottawa has had the Flyers' number for a long time.

"The statement here has nothing to do with Havlat," goalie Robert Esche said. "It's about the game."

Flyers not targeting Havlat, they say

By EDWARD MORAN

morane@phillynews.com

A matchup between the Senators and Flyers doesn't need an added story line to make it exciting.

We're talking about two top teams, both of whom are trying to finish first in the Eastern Conference and secure a home-ice seeding when the postseason begins in April.

And we're talking about two teams that have been knocking heads for the past several years and have developed a definite rivalry.

But just for the heck of it, Ottawa's Martin Havlat has once again made it even more interesting. Havlat, who high-sticked Kim Johnsson in the face last spring, and then two-handed Mark Recchi in the head during a Feb. 26 tie in Ottawa, has developed a curious case of flu over the last couple of days.

Havlat, who was suspended two games for the Recchi incident but is eligible to return tonight when the Senators come to the Wachovia Center, skated yesterday in practice. There was some early speculation that the Senators would hold Havlat out of the game to keep him out of trouble, but he said yesterday he was playing.

"You never know what's going to happen," Havlat said. "It's just another game, and we've got to try and win."

Of course, no one among the Flyers said that keeping Havlat out of trouble was necessary; they maintained they can't lose focus to chase after one guy with the intent of getting even, you know.

Even if coach Ken Hitchcock said after the last game that someone was going to make Havlat "eat his lunch.''

"I'm not going to say it's lunch time," Hitchcock said yesterday. "We have a hockey game to win. Win the game. That would be the best statement we could make. It's too valuable a hockey game. It's too important to worry about agendas.

"If the agenda is us against Ottawa, then guess what the next game is? Another agenda. There's a career left for everybody. We've got to win hockey games and if we're going to lose players in important hockey games, that would be the wrong thing to do right now."

What the Flyers have to do, Hitchcock said, was play a tighter defensive game and not be checked off the puck easily or give up turnovers to a team with a transition game as quick as the Senators'.

"We've had a tendency at times to think there is more pressure on you than there really is, so you throw [the puck] into areas to get rid of it instead of holding on to it and making strong plays,'' Hitchcock said. "That's just patience and composure."

Patience and composure means not getting tossed, suspended, injured and penalized for focusing on one guy.

"This is a big game for both teams and we've got to play our game and they have to play their game," said Todd Fedoruk. "Stuff like [the two-hander on Recchi] this late in the season, and it goes right out the window [without retaliation].''

Even Recchi says that, and it was his head Havlat went after.

"We've got a job to do here," he said. "We had a tough loss this week [Sunday in Detroit]. We want to keep moving forward here and we have to be good, we have to be a lot better than we were up there, and I believe we will be.

"This is a statement game. We have to get better in some areas against them and gain some confidence. We know what those areas are and what we have to do."

Lunchtime!
But don't expect payback when Havlat meets Flyers
By BRUCE GARRIOCH, Ottawa Sun

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers will have a chance to make Martin Havlat "eat his lunch" tonight. Havlat, who served a two-game suspension for trying to rearrange Mark Recchi's teeth last week in Ottawa, has recovered from what Flyers winger Todd Fedoruk called "the Philly flu," a virus that forced him to miss two practices.

And despite threats from Philadelphia, Havlat isn't worried.

"You never know what's going to happen," said Havlat. "It's just another game and we've got to try to go out to win the game."

But Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock unleashed one more verbal attack on Havlat, who became a target during last year's Eastern Conference semi-final when he accidentally high-sticked Philly defenceman Kim Johnsson in Game 2.

"What's the difference from the playoffs? There's no difference from the incident in the playoffs," said Hitchcock. "Everyone in the league knows it's not just an accident. These are too frequent to be accidents.

"Everybody in the league recognizes that and even probably Havlat does too. My belief on Havlat is he is a reckless player and everybody knows that now."

So will the Flyers make Havlat "eat his lunch," a threat that was issued last week.

"No, we have a hockey game to win," said Hitchcock. "Yeah, win the game, and that's the best statement we can make rather than worry about an agenda."

"I don't think anybody is going to put themselves in the position where they're going to get themselves suspended," said Senators defenceman Todd Simpson. "This is a game for first place. You can't afford any of that stuff.

"(Hitchcock's) just sticking up for his team. I thought it was a little silly -- especially for what he had to say and he's not the one who has to go out there and do anything. Recchi wasn't hurt, but I guess you have to be ready for anything."

Hitchcock said it's his job as the coach to defend his players.

"That's the coach's job to stick up for his team and that's what I did," said Hitchcock. "I would love to go on the ice, but then maybe some of our own players would want to beat me up."

Recchi won't be looking for blood.

"We have a game to win. I can't hurt my team," said Recchi. "Obviously, he is good hockey player who has done some things in his short career that bother people.

"He's a young kid and a good young player. It won't be a distraction. We have a job to do here. (Ottawa) had a tough loss (in Buffalo). We have to move forward and be a lot better than up there."

Healthy Havlat will face the Flyers

The Senators' winger won't have to deal with 'Philly flu' jokes, just the wrath of an angry opponent, ALLEN PANZERI reports from Philadelphia.

For the past couple of days, Martin Havlat has barely been able to keep his lunch down.

That almost denied the Philadelphia Flyers, in the words of coach Ken Hitchcock, the chance to "hand his lunch to him" for the cross-check to Mark Recchi's face last week in Ottawa.

But the Senators 22-year-old right winger skated yesterday, the flu bug obviously beaten, and barring a relapse, will make his return tonight against the Flyers.

For the record, Havlat will skate again this morning to see how he feels before making a final decision. But he skated in Rob Ray's spot on the third line yesterday, making it appear as if he will dress tonight.

So it doesn't look as if the Flyers will get a chance to say that Havlat is suffering from the "Philly flu," the sudden ailment that afflicted visiting players in the 1970s when the Flyers were known as the Broad Street Bullies.

That would have disappointed Havlat's many critics, most prominently Don Cherry, who says that Havlat deserved to be hammered in return.

"He's got no respect for anybody," said Cherry during his Coach's Corner segment of Hockey Night in Canada. "He's a good player. He doesn't need to do that. (Hitchcock) said someone is going to make him eat his lunch. I'll finish that for (Hitchcock). He's going to be eating his lunch through a straw."

Cherry's not the only one with those sentiments. Havlat has earned himself a reputation this year.

First, after a stick-swinging incident on Dec. 22 at the Corel Centre, he was fined $1,000 U.S. for hitting Byron Ritchie across the helmet. Ritchie was steamed.

"I know that he's done that before, and he's really dirty with his stick," he said. "It's something you need to watch out for. When he gets his stick around like that, he's not afraid to swing it. It's something they need to look at, and something I'll keep in my mind for the next time we play them."

Then, Havlat got a two-game suspension for kicking the New York Islanders' Eric Cairns in a Jan. 1 game at the Corel Centre.

However, whether the Flyers will go after Havlat's head tonight, or whether the rhetorical hype turns to fizzle remains to be seen.

From yesterday's tone here, you can bet on the latter. Recchi certainly wasn't preoccupied with anything more than getting the two points.

"We've got a job to do here," he said.

"They had a tough loss (in Buffalo) and we know if we want to keep moving forward here we have to be good. We have to be a lot better than we were up there when we got a 1-1 tie. And I believe we will be a lot better. They're a good hockey team and we want to prove we are, too."

Neither was Todd Fedoruk, the Flyers' enforcer, preoccupied with Havlat.

"They're a really good team," he said. "Look at the standings. They're right with us. These games count down the stretch. We want to be No. 1 over the course of the season and I'm sure they do, too.

"So this is a big game for both teams. We're going to play our game and they're going to play their game and when stuff like (the Havlat incident) happens, it goes right out the window this late in the season. I don't think they have to worry about us running him. If we do that we won't play our game. We have to concentrate on doing that first."

Even Hitchcock had softened his tone. Somewhat.

"I'm not saying it's lunch time now," he said. "We have a hockey game to win. That's the best statement we can make. It's too valuable a hockey game. It's too important to worry about agendas. If it's an agenda (tonight), then what's it going to be the next game? Another agenda?

"There's a career left for everybody (to settle scores). We have to win hockey games.
"My belief on Havlat is he's a reckless player and I think everybody knows that now. I felt that last year watching him and coaching against him. He's gotten suspended because of it."

For his part, Havlat, after his twogame suspension for the cross-check, also kept his remarks even-tempered.

"You never know what's going to happen," he said. "For me, it's a regular game. We'll be trying to win the game like them, so we'll see what happens."

He also wouldn't bite when asked about Hitchcock's comments, and sentiments across the dressing room were similar. The players know the game that Hitchcock is trying to play and don't get upset about a coaching strategy that's straight out of Slapshot.

"He can say whatever he wants to say," said Havlat.

Senators coach Jacques Martin, not surprisingly, wouldn't bite either.

"I don't control that," he said. "All I can do is prepare our team to play the game hard and win the hockey game."

Todd Simpson, one of Ottawa's enforcers, brushed off Hitchcock's comments, noting that coaches aren't on the ice.

"It's not going to be Hitchcock who feeds him his lunch," he said. "He's not out there.
"Besides, this is a big two points. It's for first place. I don't think anything is going to happen."

NHL for kids

At what age did you start playing hockey?
Five

What do you do when you don't have a hockey game?
I like to watch movies, listen to music and hang out with my friends.

Do you play any musical instruments?
No

What is the greatest compliment a fan could pay you?
Compliments on my play-making or on a nice goal.

How many languages do you speak?
Two - English and Czech.

If you went to a NHL game as a spectator, which player would you most want to see on the ice?
Jaromir Jagr (NY Rangers)

As a player, which opposing player would you NOT want to see on the ice?
There is at least one on every team! There are so many good players.

Do you have a favorite childhood memory?
Growing up there were so many great hockey memories, it's hard to choose just one.

Do your teammates have any nicknames for you? What are they?
Some players call me 'Kicking Bird' (character in the movie "Dances with Wolves") because of my latest hairstyle. Also, fans call me 'Mach 9' due to my speed.

Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Yes, I have a brother (Slava) and a sister (Lenka).

Have you asked any other players for autographs since entering the NHL?
Yes - I've asked many to sign memorabilia for charities.

When was the first time anyone ever asked you for your autograph?
When I was 17, playing for my hometown team Trinec (Czech Elite League).

Dogs or cats?
Dogs!

Feisty Flyers Beat Up Senators

Robert Esche brawls with Ottawa goalie Patrick Lalime during the final minutes of Friday night's victory. (AP)

Anthony J. SanFilippo
ComcastSportsNet.com Contributor

Martin Havlat has no one to blame but himself.

All the guy had to do was keep his stick down when the Flyers last met the Ottawa Senators in Canada's capital city last month.

But instead, he mistook himself for an Iron Chef and Mark Recchi's head for a nice pot roast.

Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock vowed revenge. What happened Friday night was not what he had in mind, but hey, he'll take it and so will the sell-out crowd who witnessed one of the most memorable games in the history of the Flyers franchise.

What happened? Let's see... where should we begin?

How about the end, where, when the game ended, the Flyers had seven skaters and a goalie, and the Senators six skaters and a goalie — on the entire squad.

In a game fresh out of 1974, a combined 23 players were tossed from the game for engaging in several melees on the ice. The goalies went toe-to-toe, the coaches screamed unprintable words back and forth at each other across the bench, and blood was spilled. The gloves dropped after every faceoff in the game's final minutes. Records for penalty minutes were shattered. After the game general manager Bob Clarke went head-hunting, looking for an Ottawa official to tear apart. Even the media from each country had to be separated following an incident.

All the while, Havlat dodged the combat better than President Clinton during Vietnam, hiding on the Ottawa bench or in the penalty box serving penalties for booted teammates.

Oh yeah, the Flyers dismantled the Ottawa Senators 5-3. But back to the good stuff.

All told there were a combined 419 minutes in penalties, smashing the league record of 406 set by the Minnesota North Stars and Boston Bruins in February, 1981.

The Flyers obliterated their own team record of 194 penalty minutes set in March, 1979 against the Los Angeles Kings with 213 on Friday.

The two teams also broke a record for most penalty minutes in a period by amassing 409, smashing the league mark of 379 set in the same 1979 Flyers-Kings squabble.

And it all started when a frustrated Senators squad took a run at Sami Kapanen.

"(Rob) Ray went after Sami and started throwing punches at him," said Donald Brashear. "If you want to screw around, we will take care of business."

So Brash did. And he beat Ray to a pulp, leaving the Senators' tough guy dripping blood drops on the ice.

A couple of Senators didn't take too kindly to Brashear's easy knockout and went after him as he was skating off the ice. A rumble ensued. Every possible glove and stick was on the ice.

"They were mad because their tough guy got beat up," Hitchcock said. "Then their next two (fighters) go after two guys who don't fight at all. That's why what happened happened."

Even the goalies dropped the gloves, as Esche landed a couple of shots to Patrick Lalime's head.

Brashear amassed 34 minutes of penalties all by himself. He was tossed along with Esche, Danny Markov — who dropped them with Todd Simpson — and Branko Radivojevic, who traded blows with Shaun Van Allen. Ray, Lalime, Simpson and Van Allen all got the gate for Ottawa. All this occurred at 18:15 of the third period.

It was the best brawl of the season. But that was just the appetizer for a seven-course meal.

Three seconds later, on the very next faceoff, secondary fighter for Ottawa, Chris Neil, jabbed Radovan Somik in the groin with his stick. Somik jabbed back. Then Neil punched him, and every player on the ice went at it again.

More penalties. More ejections.

Good-bye to Somik, Neil and Mattias Timander and Zdeno Chara, who also went at it on the same faceoff.

Fast forward another three seconds. Michal Handzus, one of Somik's good friends on the Flyers, attacked Mike Fisher as soon as the puck dropped.

Thanks for playing gentlemen.

By this point, the crowd was in a state of euphoria.

The officials seemed to plead to the benches to end the chicanery.

Oh, but they were far from done.

A mere 23 seconds later, as it appeared cooler heads had prevailed, Recchi drilled Wade Redden into the boards. Redden turned around and attacked John LeClair. Recchi grabbed Brian Smolinski.

More gloves, more penalties, four more players shown the door.

Two seconds later it was Patrick Sharp pounding on Jason Spezza.

Adios Amigos.

Ten fights in 32 seconds. Must be another record.

All the while Havlat just watched from his island.

"My team didn't forget what Havlat did last game," Recchi said. "I'd be pretty upset if I were his teammates, I'll tell you that."

And if the show of sportsmanship on the ice wasn't enough, what happened off of it was just the cherry on top.

First, Brashear allegedly was making gestures down the hallway between the two locker rooms, mocking slitting his throat at Senator player Todd Simpson.

When asked about it, Brashear said, "No comment."

When peppered by a Canadian reporter as to why he sucker punched Ray, Brashear said "I didn't sucker punch him. If I'd have sucker punched him he would be laying on his back."

Brash then said he started the whole bru-ha-ha.

"Of course I started it, why wouldn't I start it?," he said. "Did you watch the last game? You figure it out."

It was the same Canadian television reporter who crashed into a Comcast SportsNet reporter (not this one) during an interview with Senators coach Jacques Martin.

Looking like Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone in "The Mark of Zorro," the two reporters, wielding microphones, nearly killed each other.

It was a lot more exciting than what Martin had to say, which was nothing.

Maybe that's why Clarke called Martin "a gutless puke."

Wait, when did that happen?

Oh, yeah. Clarkie stormed downstairs from his cozy perch atop the arena and had to be restrained from going after Martin in the Senators locker room.

He later eyeballed Senators G.M. John Muckler in the hallway before voicing his displeasure with NHL supervisor of officials, Claude Loiselle, who happened to be in attendance for the game.

Clarke said a lot more that can't be reprinted here, but it was yet another priceless moment in the middle of a priceless turn of events.

Lost in all of this translation was the fact that the Flyers dominated Ottawa for the game's first 55 minutes.

After allowing Neil to score the first goal of the game 4:07 in, Claude LaPointe, Recchi and Markov all put the puck past a shaky Lalime giving the Flyers a 3-1 lead after one period.

Kim Johnsson and Alexei Zhamnov also scored while Chara and Petr Bondra added goals for the Senators.

The win and the fights didn't come without a cost, though. The Flyers lost three defensemen in the game and will have to make due with minor leaguers for at least Saturday's game in Washington.

Chris Therien and Joni Pitkanen both left the game in the first period with injuries. Therien suffered a strained left shoulder, and Pitkanen was listed as having his "bell rung," although Hitchcock later said it was a concussion.

Markov will also be out of the lineup serving a one-game suspension for picking up his third game misconduct of the year. This leaves the Flyers with Kim Johnsson, Mattias Timander and John Slaney as the only blueliners left.

Kapanen was an emergency fill-in on defense for the last two periods against Ottawa and may see some time there against Washington.

Hitchcock also said Phantoms defenseman Freddie Meyer and Joey Hope could see time.

Of course, there's also the possibility of Clarke pulling off a trade once he calms down.

With the win, the Flyers (35-16-12-6, 88 points) remained tied for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with Tampa Bay and moved seven points ahead of New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.