Konecny, Flyers top Blackhawks in 2019 Global Series

PRAGUE-- Travis Konecny scored two goals and had an assist for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 NHL Global Series at O2 Arena on Friday.

"I was just trying to play the right way, got a couple good bounces and a couple good opportunities," Konecny said. "Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. Tonight they did."
Oskar Lindblom and Michael Raffl scored, and Carter Hart made 28 saves for Philadelphia, which won its first game under coach Alain Vigneault.
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Flyers highlights]
Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists, and Alex Nylander and Alex DeBrincat scored for Chicago. Corey Crawford made 34 saves.
It was the season opener for each team.
"Disappointed with the fact that we couldn't find a way to win today," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "We lagged a little bit in the second period and it ended up hurting us, but we're seeing a lot of positives, a lot of things we can build on."
Konecny gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 6:24 of the first period. Blackhawks defenseman Dennis Gilbert turned over the puck at the blue line, and Konecny skated in and scored to the far side.

He scored his second at 18:04 of the second period to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead. Scott Laughton took a bad pass by Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith in the Philadelphia zone and skated out. Laughton centered the puck to Konecny, who dragged it around Keith scored with a backhand to the far side.
"I felt like I just caught him flat-footed for a second," Konecny said. "To be completely honest, I did make the move and I was trying to go far side, but that's just one of those shots and you get lucky and it goes in."
Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said, "Ultimately we just didn't have manage the puck well enough. We turned way too many pucks over and that's where we exposed ourselves defensively."
Nylander tied it 1-1 when he scored at 7:44 of the first. Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead when Konecny snapped a hard cross-ice pass to Lindblom, and his shot bounced off the crossbar and Chicago defenseman Slater Koekkoek for a power-play goal at 6:28 of the second.
DeBrincat one-timed a pass from Kane for a power-play goal to get the Blackhawks within 3-2 with 13 seconds remaining in the second.

Raffl put the Flyers ahead 4-2 at 9:48 of the third, and Kane made it 4-3 with 2:07 remaining and Crawford out for an extra attacker.
"I like that we fought back," Kane said. "It was 3-1, they were dominating the game and we could've easily just folded up and called it quits, but we fought back and made it a game and came close to tying it up."
Hart made three saves in the final 2:07. He allowed four goals on 10 shots and was removed in the second period of a 4-3 exhibition loss to Lausanne (Switzerland) on Monday.
"We didn't read into it too much in Lausanne," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "He played great tonight, gave us a chance to win. At the end of game he made some big saves for us."

They said it

"For some reason, every year it takes me a little bit to get into the game, so whatever the numbers were tonight I still feel like I could give more to the team and can create more and have the puck a little bit more out there too, so just keep building here." -- Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane
"The three, 3 1/2 days, everyone had a good time, we had fun as a team, the guys enjoyed sightseeing. It was a great team win for us and I think tonight we showed what we are capable of." -- Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, a Czech Republic native

Need to know

Kane is the first Blackhawks player with at least one point in four countries. In addition to Canada, the United States and Czech Republic, he had four points (two goals, two assists) against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 2-3, 2009 in Helsinki. ... The Flyers won their fourth consecutive season opener. ... Konecny missed the first four days of training camp before signing a six-year contract Sept. 16.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCH, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Flyers: Host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, NHL.TV)