Sean Couturier scores two goals, Flyers defeat Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Sean Couturier had two goals to help the Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at Staples Center on Friday.
Couturier scored twice in a four-goal second period for the Flyers in their season opener. Boyd Gordon and Mark Streit also scored for Philadelphia, and goalie Michal Neuvirth made 23 saves.

Rookie Travis Konecny assisted on each of Couturier's goals in his NHL debut playing on a line with Couturier and Jakub Voracek.
"We know we can be a productive line, and tonight was a good example of a lot of support and a lot of chances we got," Couturier said.
Drew Doughty and Brayden McNabb scored for the Kings, who lost their home opener and have scored three goals in their first two games. Goalie Jeff Zatkoff made 26 saves in his first start with the Kings. No. 1 goalie Jonathan Quick sustained a long-term lower-body injury in a 2-1 season-opening loss at the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

Couturier's second goal gave Philadelphia a 3-0 lead at 12:04 of the second period. He made it 2-0 with a backhand past Zatkoff's outstretched left leg at 4:43 of the period. The Kings were caught in a line change, and Couturier was left unchecked in the middle to get to the loose puck.
Gordon snapped the puck high past Zatkoff's glove side at 3:55 of the second to open the scoring. The Kings were changing, and Gordon was free to take a pass from Nick Cousins.
Streit swatted the puck at the goal line on the left side of the Kings net and it glanced in off Zatkoff's head with 1:57 left in the period for a 4-0 lead.
Doughty scored 49 seconds later to get the Kings on the board, and McNabb followed at 3:01 of the third with a point shot that went in off Streit's skate.
The Kings held a pregame ceremony to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Several players from their first season in 1967-68 attended, as did all six players whose numbers have been retired by Los Angeles (Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Rogie Vachon).

Goal of the game

Couturier's second goal was a one-timer off Konecny's quick backhand pass after Kings defenseman Derek Forbort turned over the puck in the corner to give the Flyers possession. Couturier's shot clanged in off the crossbar.
"When I was actually skating out of the zone, I saw him on my left side, then they turned the puck over and I figured he would be in the right spot, so I threw it to an area and he was right there," said Konecny, 19, the No. 24 pick at the 2015 NHL Draft.

Save of the game

Zatkoff made a lunging right-to-left save on Streit during a power play with 2:52 left in the first period. Streit was stationed near the post to accept a pass from Konecny.

Highlight of the game

Doughty's goal gave the crowd a needed lift in the Kings home opener. Los Angeles had just allowed Philadelphia's fourth goal of the second period, but Doughty's rising slap shot at 18:52 brought the fans back into the game.

Unsung moment of the game

Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere was struck in the face by Kyle Clifford's skate blade early in the first period but did not miss a shift. He had a long cut on his face.
"I got really lucky, actually," Gostisbehere said. "It didn't get me too bad. No stitches, it's just a scrape. I gotta go get looked at, but I was just thankful that it wasn't worse. I'll take this any day over what could've happened. I just looked up and something hit me. I checked real quick and realized I was bleeding a bit. God was with me on that one, so I thank him for that."

They said it

"He's good, man. He just controls the play. He looks like a 30-year-old D-man out there. He's slowing the game down, and you rarely see that from young guys." -- Flyers center Sean Couturier on rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov
"We were turning over pucks. We were giving up odd-man rushes. We had a few bad changes. There were a few things that went wrong, and it was an awful period. It was one of the worst periods we've played as a team in a long time." -- Kings defenseman Drew Doughty on the second period
"The one in San Jose on Wednesday] was close, but not nearly as good as we have to play. Tonight, the second period was not good, and we've got to definitely be better." *-- Kings center Anze Kopitar on their 0-2-0 start
[Video: PHI@LAK: Streit slaps puck in from goal line*

Need to know

Provorov, 19, made his NHL debut and assisted on Streit's goal. He was the No. 7 pick at the 2015 draft.

What's next

Flyers: At the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, CSN-PH, NHL.TV)
Kings: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, FS-W, NHL.TV)