Wrapup: Flyers End Trip with 5-2 Win in Arizona
The Flyers completed a four-game road trip with a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes in Glendale on Monday night. Philly finished the trip with seven of eight possible points (3-0-1). The Flyers scored first in all four games and never trailed in regulation at any point.
Claude Giroux (5th and 6th goals of the season, one assist), Shayne Gostisbehere (power play, 2nd goal of the season, one assist), Sean Couturier (5th goal, one assist) and Oskar Lindblom (empty net, 4th) scored for the Flyers.
Cal Pickard played an excellent game in goal. He made clutch saves whenever needed and had no chance on either of two goals on 36 shots.
Alex Galchenyuk (power play, 2nd) and Richard Panik ( credited initially to Michael Grabner) scored for Arizona, who saw a five-game winning streak come to an end. Darcy Kuemper took the loss, stopping 29 of 33 shots.
The Flyers were 1-for-3 on the power play. They went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Coyotes dominated the first 10-plus minutes of the first period, as Pickard had to erase several turnovers. Philly generated their first two scoring chances off counterattacks by the Nolan Patrick line.
Finally, at 12:34, Giroux put the Flyers ahead 1-0. The Flyers forced a couple of turnovers up high and after a good feed from Couturier, the captain fired a shot home through a Travis Konecny screen. The assists went to Couturier and Gostisbehere.
The Flyers had a brief 5-on-3 power play late in the first period. After play moved to 5-on-4, Philly doubled its lead on a Gostisbehere point shot that Arizona's Derek Stepan accidentally deflected past a helpless Kuemper. Giroux and Konecny collected assists.
Philly got itself into early second period penalty trouble. The Coyotes made quick work of their first power play. At 1:14 of the second period, Alex Galchenyuk took a cross-ice pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and fired a shot through a Christian Fischer screen to cut the gap to 2-1.
The Flyers almost immediately took another penalty, as Robert Hà¤gg tripped an Arizona player behind the Philadelphia net. Arizona applied heavy pressure but the Flyers survived the kill and Pickard covered a loose puck for a stoppage after it expired.
Three failed clears by the Flyers left them with tired players on the ice and, finally, Scott Laughton was called for slashing at 10:01 of the second period. Philly killed the penalty. With 5:32 left in the period, Pickard made an excellent save on a turnaround shot from the slot by Clayton Keller.
The Flyers rebuilt a two-goal lead at 17:05 of the second period. Travis Sanheim jumped up in the neutral zone on a loose puck and Konecny worked a give-and-go with him. Giroux wasn't quite able to get to the puck in front. Meanwhile, Kuemper was knocked into behind his own net by Michael Grabner, and Kevin Connauton's clearing attempt went directly to Couturier at the top of the right circle near the half boards. Now Couturier had time to wind up and fire a slap shot into a yawning net for what officially was an unassisted goal.
The Flyers added some extra insurance at 6:35 of the third period with an opportunistic goal. On a Coyotes turnover near the offensive blueline, Wayne Simmonds pounced on the puck hustled up ice. On a delayed penalty on Arizona, Simmonds controlled the puck with one hand and then fed Giroux. The captain finished it off for a 4-1 Flyers lead.
The Flyers staged a strong kill on a Christian Folin holding penalty at 10:50. However, with 5:56 left, Panik redirected a Grabner shot from up high into the net to cut the deficit to 4-2.
With an empty net goal on a backhander from the blueline, Lindblom (still smarting from an earlier shot block) iced the win, and extended his (and Patrick's) point streaks.
A couple of skirmishes broke out after the game's outcome was decided. The Flyers and Coyotes will rematch at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.