Flyers score 5 times in 2nd period, defeat Coyotes for 4th win in row

The Philadelphia Flyers scored five goals in the second period in a 6-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes each had a goal and two assists for the Flyers (15-17-7), who won a season-high fourth in a row. Morgan Frost had four assists and Carter Hart made 21 saves after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
The five goals were the most they've scored in a period this season.
"We just wanted to play faster," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. "I thought our defense did a really good job of getting the puck up the ice. I thought we played a lot faster after the first period; we played quicker as the game went on."

Nick Ritchie and Michael Carcone scored, and Barrett Hayton had two assists for the Coyotes (13-19-5), who have lost three straight and 11 consecutive on the road (0-9-2). Karel Vejmelka made 28 saves.
"That's probably the worst game we've played in two years," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "We had nothing emotionally, nothing mentally. It's tough to explain. … That's something that's creeping into our game for a while. Now I guess we're in it, and now we have to find a solution."
Joel Farabee tied it 2-2 at 4:41 of the second, knocking in a rebound of Frost's shot to begin a run of four straight Philadelphia goals.
Wade Allison made it 3-2 at 8:53, scoring off his own rebound on a rush for his first goal since Nov. 8 (nine games).
Ivan Provorov increased the lead to 4-2 at 11:42, scoring for the first time since Nov. 10 (26 games) off a seam pass by Hayes.
Hayes, who
earned his first All-Star Game appearance
after being announced during the game as a Metropolitan Division representative, pushed it to 5-2 at 13:49 with the Flyers' second power-play goal. Hayes' one-timer following a passing sequence with Konecny and Frost was his first goal since Dec. 7.
"Even when we were winning earlier, we weren't scoring a lot," Hayes said. "Our coach has been harping to get pucks on net and the [defensemen are] getting a lot of shots through, which is causing traffic. Then you get rebounds and more [offensive]-zone time."

James van Riemsdyk scored at 15:02 of the third period for the 6-2 final.
"It's a tough league to win in, no matter who you play, so we're we're certainly not going to go in the back door and say that it's because of weaker opponents," Tortorella said. "I think our game has as grown as a team."
It was the eighth consecutive game the Flyers, who have an 18-8 scoring edge during their winning streak, scored at least three goals.
"For a little while here, we've had the same lines and I think that definitely helps," Frost said. "In general our [defensemen] are doing a much better job moving the puck and holding gaps. It's nice we've been putting some pucks in the net."

Michael Carcone gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 13:19 of the first period after chipping the puck up the ice to himself on a rush started by Hayton, pushing it under Rasmus Ristolainen's stick and banking a shot off Hart's back.
Konecny scored for the fifth game in a row, tying it 1-1 at 0:25 of the second with a power-play goal on an improvised play drawn up between periods by defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who got the primary assist.
"It was just Tony being Tony, he noticed something that no one else did, and then we ran the play after that," Konecny said. "When he makes up these plays, they end up being wide open."

Ritchie's backhand shot at 1:36 made it 2-1.
"We weren't detailed enough. We started getting beat up the ice, giving up those scoring chances," Hayton said. "They like those east-west plays; on those two power-play goals we just had too many breakdowns. It's not good enough."
NOTES: The Coyotes have allowed 10 power-play goals in their past nine games. … Arizona defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere played his 500th NHL game, 381 with Philadelphia. … Coyotes forward Clayton Keller was chosen as a Central Division All-Star for the third time in the past six seasons. … Konecny has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) during a seven-game point streak, with six multipoint games. … Frost had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in two games against Arizona this season. He had a goal and three assists in the Coyotes' 5-4 overtime win on Dec. 11. … The Flyers' previous four-game winning streak was Jan. 26-31, 2021. … Philadelphia scored six goals for the first time since a 6-3 victory at the Montreal Canadiens on April 21, 2022.