Gagne scored with 1:42 left in overtime to rally the Flyers to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals in front of 19,910 fans at the Wachovia Center on Thursday.
Gagne's decisive goal was his second of the game and set up by Primeau, who had two goals and two assists.
"If this thing was easy, then we'd all have rings and we'd all have championships," explained Primeau, who forced overtime by scoring with 1:49 remaining in regulation.
Jeremy Roenick celebrates a 5-4 Flyers overtime victory in Game 6.(AP Photo/Miles Kennedy)
"But it's not."
"We threw everything we had at them in the third period and the overtime," Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We were not going to be denied tonight."
The best-of-seven series is now tied 3-3.
Game 7 goes Saturday at Tampa Bay (7 p.m. EST, CBC) with the winner facing the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup finals.
"We missed an opportunity tonight," Lightning head coach John Tortorella said. "But we still have a wonderful chance."
"We're not sitting back," Hitchcock said. "When it's on the line, we're not going to sit and hope.
"That's exactly what we did (Thursday)."
Sami Kapanen also scored for the Flyers, while Jeremy Roenick contributed two assists.
Ruslan Fedotenko and Vincent Lecavalier each scored twice for the Lightning.
Dave Andreychuk and Martin St. Louis added two assists apiece.
"We ended up on our heels a little bit," Tortorella said.
The Lightning struck first as Lecavalier broke in 2-on-1 with St. Louis, faked a pass and whisked a quick shot by a surprised Robert Esche only 1:28 into the contest.
The Flyers tied it 1-1 when Primeau kicked the puck ahead to Gagne, who flicked his fourth over Nikolai Khabibulin's shoulder at 7:23.
Primeau swatted in Vladimir Malakhov's splendid cross-ice pass to put Philadelphia ahead with three minutes left in the first period, but Lecavalier replied on a slap shot only 45 seconds into the second stanza.
It was Lecavalier's second goal of the game and ninth in 10 games.
"He played real well, both with the puck and without the puck," Tortorella said. "He's an important player for us."
Kapanen's third on a sharp-angled slap shot put the Flyers ahead 3-2 at 12:42 of the second before Fedotenko tallied twice in a 2:18 span to regain the lead for the Lightning.
In both instances, Fedotenko, a former Flyer, was fed in the slot by Andreychuk, at 15:15 and 17:33, giving him eight goals.
The Flyers, though, refused to fold and forced overtime when Primeau reached around the net to tuck in his second goal of the game and ninth of the playoffs.
Afterward, Philadelphia's inspirational captain credited the capacity crowd for inspiring him.
"I got energized by their emotion and their passion in the third period," Primeau said. "I wish we could take all 20,000 to Tampa."
with files from CP Online
