PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Keith Primeau saved the Philadelphia Flyers’ season. Simon Gagne gave them at least one more game.

Gagne scored his second goal with 1:42 left in overtime, leading the Flyers to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday night.

The Flyers are seeking their eighth trip to the Cup finals, and first since getting swept by Detroit in 1997. The Lightning, in the playoffs for just the third time in the franchise’s 12 seasons, have never reached the Cup finals.

After Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin made several outstanding saves, Gagne stuffed a rebound off a shot by Jeremy Roenick into an open net.

Primeau scored twice, including the tying goal with 1:49 left in regulation, and Sami Kapanen had a goal.

Ruslan Fedotenko and Vincent LeCavalier each scored twice for the Lightning.

Fedotenko’s first goal against his former teammates tied it at 3 in the second period. He scored on a power play from almost the same spot on a near-identical pass from Dave Andreychuk to give the Lightning a 4-3 lead with 2:27 left in the second.

But Tampa Bay seemed content to sit on the lead in the third period, and Primeau finally made them pay for it. From the left side of the net, Primeau kicked the puck through goaltender Khabibulin’s pads, came around the other side and jammed it in to send the game to overtime.

Primeau, the Flyers’ captain, has been dominant in the postseason, scoring nine goals in 16 games after getting nine goals in 110 playoff games coming into the year.

Now, the injury-depleted Flyers, playing without defensemen Eric Desjardins, Marcus Ragnarsson and forward Radovan Somik, are one victory away from playing for the Cup.

A raucous, orange-clad crowd went silent when Lecavalier scored a breakaway goal to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead just 88 seconds into the game.

But a pretty, backhanded goal by Gagne off a kick-pass from Primeau tied it at 1. Primeau then gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead with a one-timer off a perfect pass from Vladimir Malakhov.

Lecavalier’s second goal tied it at 2 just 45 seconds into the second period. Lecavalier’s slap shot sailed past Flyers defenseman Mattias Timander and just under Robert Esche’s glove.

Kapanen, back at left wing after injuries forced him to play defense most of the series, gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead, scoring on a slap shot from a side angle.

Less than three minutes later, Fedotenko tied it at 3 with a slap shot from the slot. He had one goal, which came with the Flyers, in 22 playoff games, before scoring eight this postseason.

Notes: Primeau surpassed his total of seven goals in 54 regular-season games. … Flyers D Joni Pitkanen returned after sitting out Game 5 with an “upper-body” injury. Somik sat out with a hand injury. … Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was among the sellout crowd of 19,910 at the Wachovia Center. … The Flyers are 1-for-37 on the power play, dating to Game 4 of their second-round series against Toronto. They are 1-for-24 against the Lightning. … Tampa Bay has scored on six of its last 12 opportunities with the man-advantage.

AP-ES-05-20-04 2258EDT