Flyers 4, Hurricanes 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Ray Emery stopped the puck when it mattered most.

Emery made up for a third-period blunder by making a key save with 23 seconds left, leading the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Everybody makes mistakes out there," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We made a bunch of them tonight. He competed really well tonight, and made the big saves when the game was on the line. He did what he needed to do today for us to be successful."

Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist for the Flyers, who have won six consecutive home games and three straight overall. Dan Carcillo and Chris Pronger also scored, and Emery finished with 33 saves.

Eric Staal and Rod Brind'Amour scored for Carolina (15-28-7), which has the worst record in the NHL.

Brind'Amour's power-play score came after Emery turned the puck over behind the net. Sergei Samsonov flung a pass to Brind'Amour, who easily scored into the open goal.

"I felt bad because I kind of gave them some life there, just fanning the puck," Emery said. "You know we got a lead and we deserve to keep it."

Carolina had an opportunity to tie it late in the game but Emery came out of the crease to smother Brind'Amour's power-play attempt.

"I just kind of slid across, I didn't know if there was someone or not," Emery said. "(I) just kind of saw the pass come across. (The shots) came pretty hard."

Said Brind'Amour: "He made a big save on me at the end and that was the difference. I should've scored on that and we'd still be playing."

Despite outshooting the Flyers, Carolina remained winless against them in their past 14 meetings (0-11-3).

Carter added an empty-net goal for the final margin.

The Flyers improved to 3-0-0 on their longest homestand of the year, with six games in 12 days at the Wachovia Center.

Carolina goalie Manny Legace, who gave starter Cam Ward a rest after 17 straight starts, lasted 6:36 before leaving with an eye injury related to a recent bout with conjunctivitis. Legace stopped six of seven shots. Ward finished with 20 saves.

Carcillo stripped the puck from Joni Pitkanen at the blue line, then beat Legace with a forehand-to-backhand move at 3:05 in the first, giving the Flyers the first goal scored in 14 of their past 15 games, including 12 in the first period.

Staal tied it with 59.7 seconds left in the first, taking a cross-ice pass from Jussi Jokinen and firing a one-timer past Emery. It was only the fourth game in the past 15 that Philadelphia has allowed a first-period goal.

Pronger scored on a power play 14:11 into the second before Carter had his first goal with just over four minutes remaining in the second.

NOTES: Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of center Brind'Amour's trade from Philadelphia, with Jean-Marc Pelletier, to Carolina for Keith Primeau. During his time with the Flyers, Brind'Amour played in a franchise-record 484 straight games.