Postgame 5: Flyers Conquer Coyotes in Seesaw 5-3 Victory

The Philadelphia Flyers overcame three separate one-goal deficits to defeat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3, at Wells Fargo Center on Monday evening. The Flyers scored three unanswered goals in the third period to prevail.

The Flyers (29-19-6) have won each of their first four games since the NHL All-Star break. They swept the season series against Arizona.

Monday's game was disjointed at times due to extensive special teams play. There were stretches where the Flyers carried the play only to give momentum back to the opportunistic Coyotes. Philly would then reset and start to take over again. 

Scott Laughton scored the game-winning goal for the Flyers and also set up a Travis Konecny goal on a 2-on-1. Konecny had a three-point game (1g, 2a). Morgan Frost had one his best all-around games of the season, including a penalty shot goal, three power plays created for Philadelphia, several scoring chances, several setups to linemates, three credited hits, and a credited takeaway in 20:09 of ice time.

The Flyers also received tallies from Jamie Drysdale to forge a 3-3 deadlock and an Owen Tippett empty-netter to ice the win.

The first period had a lot of whistles and sloppy play from both teams. Arizona got the lone goal.

The Coyotes grabbed a 1-0 lead at  16:26 of the first period as Matt Dumba (3rd goal of the season) fired a right point home through a partial moving screen in front. The assists went to Clayton Keller and Travis Dermott.

The second period was entertaining and action-packed but also another sloppy frame at times. The Flyers had a territorial edge but scoring chances were plentiful for both teams.

A would-be tying goal by Travis Sanheim at 2:21 of the second period was wiped out on an offside challenge by the Coyotes.

The Flyers knotted the score at 4:23 of the middle frame on a penalty shot goal by Frost (9th). Frost split the defense through the middle and was hooked by Michael Kesselring. On the ensuing penalty shot, Frost patiently waited out goalie Karel Vejmelka and then snapped a wrister through the five-hole.

Arizona claimed a 2-1 edge on a 4-on-4 goal at 7:57 of the second period. Mattias Maccelli banked the puck in off Samuel Ersson from behind the Flyers' net. The assists went to J.J. Moser and Kesselring.

Laughton beat Logan Cooley to a puck and broke out on a 2-on-1 with Travis Konecny (25th goal of the season) tha re-tied the game at the 9:55 mark of the second period. Laughton saucered a cross-ice pass over Sean Durzi and Konecny made no mistake from the right slot.  Laughton had the lone assist.

The Coyotes took the lead yet again, making it 3-2 at 14:04 of the second period. Cam York stepped up to play the puck at the red line but the Coyotes won the battle. Owen Tippett did not arrive in time on the backcheck and Alex Kerfoot (8th) tucked the puck into the net. The assists went to Jason Zucker and Moser.

Drysdale weaved into the right circle and banked his second goal as a Flyer (3rd of the season) into the net off Dumba at 6:12 of the third period to make it 3-3. The lone assist went to Konecny.

On a high-stick double-minor delayed penalty on Dumba, Laughton (7th) scored on a wraparound at 10:21 to give Philadelphia a 4-3 lead. The assists went to Sanheim and Marc Staal.

Tippett (19th) added an empty net goal at 18:31 for a 5-3 lead to seal the win. The assists went to Konecny and Couturier.

Samuel Ersson made several timely saves, especially after the Flyers took a 4-3 lead, to earn the win in net for Philly. He finished with 20 saves on 23 shots. Karel Vejmelka took the loss. The Arizona netminder made 29 saves on 33 shots.

The Flyers went 0-for-8 on the power play. They generated their share of pressure and several opportunities near the net, but could not pot a goal. However, Philly succeeded in building momentum.  The Coyotes went 0-for-4 and were largely shut down by the Flyers' PK.

Philadelphia went back to an 11F/7D lineup. Tyson Foerster is dealing with a minor injury but may be back by the weekend. Ditto Rasmus Ristolainen, who is dealing with a minor upper-body issue. Nicolas Deslauriers was a healthy scratch. Olle Lycksell, Egor Zamula and Marc Staal re-entered the lineup.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

74 Owen Tippett - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 48 Morgan Frost - 89 Cam Atkinson
 27 Noah Cates  - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway
62 Olle Lycksell - 21 Scott Laughton - (rotation)

8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim 
24 Nick Seeler - 26 Sean Walker

 18 Marc Staal  - Jamie Drysdale
5 Egor Zamula

33 Samuel Ersson
[40 Cal Petersen]

TURNING POINT

There were lots of twists and turns in Monday's game. The Frost penalty shot goal and the Konecny 2-on-1 tally were arguably the two plays that enabled the Flyers to feel like they were going to win despite a 3-2 deficit entering the final stanza.

POSTGAME 5

1) The Couturier line came right out attacking on the game's first shift. On the next shift, Frost steered the puck wide on a give-and-go over the middle.

Lycksell got stationary and took an interference penalty at 2:54. Thirty seconds into the power play, Vejmelka gloved a shorthanded center point shot by York. Just as the penalty expired, Hathaway took a tripping penalty at 4:55. Laughton was in considerable pain from a shot block. At the next TV timeout, Laughton took a test sake and returned to the bench. Through 7:14, shots on goal were 2-1 Arizona .

Tippett intercepted a puck and took it to the house at the other end. At 7:47 Travis Dermott, took a holding penalty in trying to slow Tippett down. The second PP unit generated some plate pressure but Sanheim couldn't bury a loose rebound in front of a York one-timer from a feed by Frost.

Arizona took back-to-back icings as the period passed the halfway mark. At 11:01, Ersson reeled in an unscreened point shot for another stoppage. Frost, at 11:17, knocked Matias Maccellli right off the puck with a nice hit in the defensive zone. With 5:44 left in the period, Atkinson intercepted a puck in the Arizona end zone for a scoring chance on a 20-foot backhander.

At 14:46, Ersson cleanly gloved a Barrett Hayton wrist shot from near the right dot. Shots on goal were 7-3 Flyers. Lycksell blocked a shot on the next shift to end potential pressure from the Coyotes. Arizona's Dumba scored at 16:26.

2) First period shots on goal were 8-7 Coyotes. Shot attempts were 21-19 Flyers.  Scoring chances were 8-5 Flyers. High-danger chances were 3-1 Flyers per Natural Stat Trick. Faceoffs were tied at 12-12. Frost was credited with three of Philly's six hits. Philly had six credited takeaways in the opening period, including three by Konecny.

3) Poehling skated the opening shift of the second period on a line with Tippett and Konecny.  Couturier took the second shift with Cates and Hathaway as his wings. Philly generated the first four shots of the period.  

Sanheim made a good pinch and Cates and Poehling won battles leading up to Sanheim's would-be goal at 2:21. However, it went for naught as the Coyotes successfully challenged the initial entry for an off-ice. The clock reset to 2:16 elapsed time to reflect the offside.

Frost's penalty shot at 4:23 was a good display of patience and then a quick finish when Vejmelka showed space between his pads.

Frost used his feet effectively again in the offensive zone and was tripped by Durzi at 5:54. Frost then won the ensuing left circle faceoff but Sanheim was immediately called for a questionable high-sticking minor at 5:56. Maccelli's back shot goal at 7:57 put the Coyotes ahead, 2-1.

The Flyers went back to the penalty kill at 8:41 of the second period as York was called for a defensive zone cross-check on Zucker.  At 9:02, Zucker checked Poehling (who did not have the puck) into the boards in the Arizona zone. A minor penalty for interference was called.

Philly went back on the power play at 19:17 on yet another man advantage created by Frost. The Flyers took a carryover power play into the third period.

4) Second period shots on goal were 14-10 Flyers (21-17 Flyers overall). Shot attempts were 24-18 Flyers (45-37 Flyers overall).  Scoring chances were 10-9 Arizona (19-17 Flyers overall). High-danger chances were tied at 5-5 (9-6 Flyers overall). Faceoffs were 20-13 Flyers (32-25 Flyers overall).

5) The Flyers pressured on the carryover power play but could not bury a shot. Philadelphia went back to the power play yet again on a delay of game penalty on Durzi at 2:16.

Drydale evened the score at the 6:12 mark. Through the first 9:51, shots on goal were 5-1 Flyers. Laughton put the Flyers in the lead for the first time at 10:41. The Flyers also got a power play as the delayed penalty only wiped out one of the minors on Dumba.

Ersson made a bang-bang save on  Durzi at 13:46.  The goalie denied the speedy Zucker on a breakaway at 14:28.

Third period shots on goal were 13-6 Flyers (34-23 Flyers overall). Shot attempts were 23-12 Flyers (68-49 Flyers overall).  Scoring chances were 12-6 Flyers (31-26 Flyers overall). High-danger chances were 5-1Flyers (14-7 Flyers overall). Faceoffs were 9-4 Flyers (41-29 Flyers overall).