New Jersey Devils 1, Philadelphia Flyers 4 FINAL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Antero Niittymaki has made a strong case for more playing time.

The rookie goaltender stopped 35 shots for his third win in as many starts, leading the Philadelphia Flyers over the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Tuesday night.

But Niittymaki's playing time will decrease because Philadelphia acquired veteran goalie Sean Burke from Phoenix on Monday to step in until Robert Esche returns from a knee injury.

``I don't know what's going to happen,'' Niittymaki said. ``It's been fun.''

Simon Gagne and Danny Markov scored power-play goals, and Michal Handzus and Mark Recchi also scored for Philadelphia, which extended its lead to seven points over New Jersey in the Atlantic Division. The Stanley Cup champion Devils, though, have played three fewer games than the Flyers, who also lead the Eastern Conference.

Scott Niedermayer scored for New Jersey, which has lost two straight.

The Flyers have won three in a row and seven of nine.

``We played out of our system. We tried to do things that aren't us,'' Devils coach Pat Burns said. ``Niittymaki was good early. He made some big saves.''

Niittymaki, 23, has allowed just three goals since taking over as the starter after Esche went down with a strained knee last week. The Flyers already were without Jeff Hackett (vertigo) when Esche went down. Hackett retired Monday.

If this was Niittymaki's final start for a while, he certainly left an impression, outplaying eight-time All-Star Martin Brodeur.

``It's always fun to play against great players, but I tried to focus on my own game,'' Niittymaki said.

Niittymaki's best save came midway through the second period when he stoned Jamie Langenbrunner on a breakaway, earning a long standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 19,714 at the Wachovia Center.

``What this is telling us and the world is that the future of goaltending is very good in Philadelphia,'' Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said.

Gagne gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead on his 13th goal. Joni Pitkanen's shot from the side of the net was stopped, but Jeremy Roenick trickled the rebound to Gagne, who stuffed it into an open net.

Markov made it 2-0 early in the second period when he one-timed a pass from Marcus Ragnarsson past Brodeur's glove.

Handzus scored his 14th goal 14 seconds into the third. His rising shot hit Devils center Scott Gomez and went between Brodeur's legs.

Niedermayer scored a power-play goal less than three minutes later. Recchi's 21st goal midway through the third period capped the scoring.

``We've got to get ourselves straight,'' Langenbrunner said. ``We're not playing very well lately. We've been getting beat pretty bad. We're a team that usually gives itself a chance to win every night, but we're not doing that right now.