Philadelphia Flyers 4, Carolina Hurricanes 2 FINAL

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Philadelphia goaltender Sean Burke needed this one badly.

Burke made 26 saves and Branko Radivojevic had a goal and an assist to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 victory Tuesday night that ended the Carolina Hurricanes' NHL playoff hopes.

Carolina was eliminated when the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 3-0.

Burke picked up his first win since Feb. 24 and his 303rd victory, moving him past Turk Broda and into 18th place on the NHL's career list.

``I wasn't really worried about who I was passing or where I was in the overall standings of that, I just needed a win,'' Burke said. ``I haven't had one for a while and our team has played fairly well.

``I didn't want to come in here today and come out of here with anything less than two points.''

Patrick Sharp, Simon Gagne and Marcus Ragnarsson had the other goals for Philadelphia.

Bret Hedican and Craig Adams scored for the Hurricanes, who have won just one of their last seven home games. Kevin Weekes made 21 saves for Carolina.

``We have games left to play, and we can't make the playoffs this year,'' Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. ``So now everything that we do from this day forward is to make the playoffs next year and compete for a Stanley Cup. We'll be back to work tomorrow.''

Philadelphia went ahead for good with 1:11 left in the second period when Donald Brashear found Gagne all alone on the left side of the goal, and the left wing beat Weekes into the upper right corner for a 3-2 Philadelphia lead.

``Even if it wasn't a direct pass, I was trying to shoot it on net, he was there to get it,'' Brashear said. ``If it would have hit the goalie, he would have been there for the rebound.''

The Flyers made it 4-2 early in the third when Weekes lost track of the puck near the goal and Radivojevic swept in and backhanded it into the upper right corner.

``We talked about coming out a certain way and making sure we played our best in the last, and we didn't come out and do that,'' Laviolette said.

The two-goal cushion was enough for Burke, who stopped 13 shots in the final period. Eric Staal had two great opportunities during one sequence in the third, but Burke was there each time.

``I didn't feel overly sharp but I felt as the game went on I got a little stronger,'' Burke said.

The Flyers struck first. Sharp got free in front, took a pass from Radivojevic and beat Weekes on the right side for a 1-0 lead in the first period.

The Hurricanes took less than a minute to respond. Hedican blasted a slap shot by Burke from just inside the blue line on the left side of the goal, making it 1-1 with 6:24 left in the first period.

Justin Williams assisted on Hedican's goal in his first game against his old team. Philadelphia traded Williams to Carolina for defenseman Danny Markov on Jan. 20.

Williams has four assists and Hedican has three goals in the last three games for Carolina.

Ragnarsson made it 2-1 for the Flyers at 7:02 of the second period, but Adams tied the game again at 8:36.