PHILADELPHIA -- If the Flyers continue to play as well as they did on Saturday, theyll have little trouble making the playoffs. Jamaal Charles Authentic Jersey . Matt Read scored a pair of goals to lift the Flyers to a convincing 4-0 victory over the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. "We were looking for a game like that a long time ago where we make sure that everybody follows the game plan and everybody plays 60 minutes," said Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who had a pair of assists. "It feels pretty good." Scott Hartnell and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for Philadelphia, which is in the middle of a tightly bunched pack of teams battling for a playoff spot. The Penguins, who are comfortably atop the Metropolitan Division, were shut out for the fourth time this season. Pittsburgh played without its third- and fourth-leading scorers, Chris Kunitz (lower body) and James Neal (concussion). The Flyers neutralized Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. "They did a lot of what we expected," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "We werent able to handle it, and in all aspects of the game we werent good." Besides Kunitz and Neal, the Penguins continued to be without top winger Pascal Dupuis (knee) and defencemen Kris Letang (stroke) and Paul Martin (hand). But Bylsma wouldnt use injuries as an excuse. "We have capable guys, guys who have done well for us before," he said. "We have to find ways to win within our roles regardless of whos in there. We werent able and ready to do that today." Philadelphia played like the first-place team in a matchup between two the leagues top rivals. "We want to finish higher and want home-ice advantage," Giroux said. "Its there for us to take but we have to keep playing like this." The Flyers came out with a high-energy attack from the opening faceoff in one of their best efforts of the season. Steve Mason made 25 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 23rd of his career. "Everything felt very under control," Mason said. Leading 2-0 after one period, Philadelphia made it 4-0 with a pair of second-period goals. Lecavalier made it 3-0 when he scored on a breakaway after taking a stellar pass from Luke Schenn. Then, Read tallied his second of the game by finishing a beautifully executed 3-on-1 with Giroux and Sean Couturier with 17 seconds remaining in the period to give Philadelphia a 4-0 advantage. Couturier passed to Giroux in the slot and Giroux faked the shot before going back to Couturier, who whipped it across the ice to a wide-open Read. Read tapped home the goal past a sprawling Fleury, who was fooled by Girouxs fake. "Its hard to miss those when theyre right on your stick," Read said. "I benefited from those two making a great play." Mason kept Pittsburgh scoreless with a strong second period that included a point-blank stop of Jayson Megna six minutes into the period and a solid save on Simon Despres try from the left circle with 33 seconds left. The Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two nice goals in the first period. Hartnell opened the scoring with a power-play goal 3:50 into the game by one-timing Girouxs pass from the slot. The shot changed directions when hitting Brooks Orpiks stick and went off Fleurys left shoulder and in. A little more than four minutes later, Read scored a short-handed tally on a one-timer from close range after taking a deft pass from Couturier from behind the net and firing it over Fleurys left shoulder. The Flyers unveiled an 8-foot, 1,300-pound statue of Hall of Fame coach Fred Shero prior to the game on the former site of the Spectrum, which is adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center. Shero coached the Flyers for seven seasons and won a pair of Stanley Cups, in 1974 and 75. Sheros son, Ray, who is the Penguins general manager, was among those who attended the pregame ceremony. Notes: Kunitz, who has 59 points on the season, warmed up but didnt play. Kunitz crashed into the goal post in the third period of Tuesdays game against Washington. Bylsma was noncommittal when asked whether Kunitz would play Sunday. ... G Ray Emery returned to his role backing up Mason. Emery hadnt dressed since suffering a lower body injury Feb. 27 against San Jose. ... Crosby, who leads the NHL with 88 points, entered with 75 points in 30 career games against Philadelphia. ... The teams will play a rematch at 12:30 Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Eric Berry Black Jersey . LOUIS -- T. Dee Ford Black Jersey . I feel bad for him right now. Its all slipping away for him and he knows it.MINNEAPOLIS -- Lose by a little or win by a lot: thats been the story for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Theres still time to move past their spats and struggles make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, and this was a forward step. Nikola Pekovic scored 26 points in 27 minutes and the Timberwolves blew off some steam with a 119-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. "We just need to have one good streak and then were right back where we need to be," said Kevin Love, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds and rested for most of the fourth quarter. Kevin Martin added 19 points, and Minnesotas bench had 20 points before Charlottes reserves even got on the board late in the second quarter. "Im happy when we play hard, when we play to the end," said Pekovic, who also stifled former Timberwolves big man Al Jefferson on the defensive end. Anthony Tolliver led the Bobcats with 21 points on 5-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, and Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 16 points. Jefferson finished with only eight points and seven rebounds, though, and the Bobcats were outrebounded 54-33 on their way to their seventh loss in eight games. "Basically just kicked our butts," Jefferson said. The Timberwolves lost on Wednesday 104-103 to Phoenix to fall to 0-10 in games decided by four points or fewer. The tension lingered into the locker room where Love, who was critical recently of a particularly paltry output by the reserves, ripped J.J. Barea and Dante Cunningham for their disinterested body language at the end of the bench. By midway through the second quarter, though, all the frustration had faded away. "We did a good job of letting the other night go. We forgot about that already. Now were back winning, so weve just got to keep it going," Barea said. The Wolves posted their league-leading eighth win of 20 points or more. Theyre also 8-2 following those losses of four points or less. "They want to be a good team, but they have to find out how theyre going to do that," said coach Rick Adelman, who remained critical of some defensive risks and forced shots, mistakes that have contributed to the close losses. Love set the tone with a commanding start, posting his league-leading 31st double-double before halftime. Eric Berry Grey Jersey. . Then the backups put together one of their sharpest stretches of the season. With Chase Budinger and Ronny Turiaf finally healthy, the second unit is much stronger. The highlight came when Cunningham blocked Kemba Walkers fast-break layup, Barea grabbed the ball, and Alexey Shved caught his outlet pass for an uncontested dunk for a 45-34 lead. That came near the end of a 20-6 run by the Wolves. Pekovic then scored 13 straight points for the Wolves in one third-quarter, and Martin followed with a layup to push the lead to a game-high 88-57. "If we can do it consistently, this teams going to be great," Barea said. The Bobcats (15-22) entered the game still above the cut in the Eastern playoff chase, seeking just the second appearance in the franchises 10 seasons. Too many more performances like this, though, and theyll have a hard time keeping up even in the far weaker of the two conferences. For a team that went an NBA-worst 28-120 over the last two seasons, there has been clear progress under first-year coach Steve Clifford. But the Bobcats, who had allowed the second-fewest points in the league entering the night, have taken a step back on defence lately. "You have to have a team game thats together where everybody knows what your game is, then understand that and they play it. We were doing that three weeks ago. Were not doing that right now," Clifford said. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will give them a boost soon. He missed his 18th straight game because of a broken left hand, but plan is for him to practice on Monday and play on Tuesday against New York. NOTES: This was the first time in nearly two years the Wolves had no injured players on the roster. Luc Mbah a Moute returned from a three-game absence due to a strained left groin and played in the fourth quarter. ... The Bobcats fell to 3-11 against Western Conference teams this season. ... Jefferson wasnt the only former Timberwolves player the Bobcats brought. Tolliver, who spent two seasons here from 2010-12, went 8 for 9 from the field. "Whenever youre getting blown out by 30 or 20 or whatever, if youre shooting really well it doesnt matter," he said. ' ' '
