Couturier has hat trick, 5 points to help Flyers top Wild, end 6-game skid

PHILADELPHIA -- Sean Couturier had a hat trick and five points to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 7-5 win against the Minnesota Wild at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

Travis Konecny had a goal and four assists for Philadelphia, which won for the first time in regulation (2-5-1) and ended a six-game skid (0-5-1). Nick Seeler, Matvei Michkov and Rasmus Ristolainen each had a goal and an assist, and Samuel Ersson made 21 saves.

Couturier had gone 32 games without a goal, dating to Feb. 10 of last season, and scored his 500th NHL point on the goal.

"I thought I was getting some chances lately, puck just wasn't going in," Couturier said. "You have those nights sometimes where everything seems to go in and the puck finds you. Just like those rebounds, they just seemed to kind of pop back at me every time. So those are nice, and you've got to take advantage of those."

Marcus Foligno scored two goals for Minnesota (5-1-2), which lost in regulation for the first time this season and had a four-game winning streak end. Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist, and Kirill Kaprizov had two assists. Filip Gustavsson made 16 saves.

"It was a little bit of a weird game," Wild coach John Hynes said. "had some mistakes early and then I felt we took the game over for a long period of time. ... There were some clear things that cost us the game tonight, but I did like the fight-back, the push-back, Foligno scoring. There were lots of good components to the game too."

Couturier made it 1-0 1:18 of the first period when he scored from in front on the rebound of a Ristolainen shot.

He scored on a similar play at the net at 8:26 of the third period to make it 5-4.

"Especially when you're struggling for offense, that's where usually you find the back of the net," Couturier said. "Whether it's a lucky bounce off of you or second, third chances. And also, playing with playing with 'Meesh' (Michkov) and 'TK' (Konecny), my job (is) just got to control the center of the ice and create some space and go to the net and they'll make plays."

Seeler made it 2-0 at 3:51 with a shot from between the top of the circles.

The Wild tied the game on goals by Brock Faber and Foligno 33 seconds apart in the second period.

Faber redirected a shot by Kaprizov to make it 2-1 at 14:54, and Foligno tied it at 15:27 when he scored off the rush from the right side. The goal was Foligno's first of the season.

"Our line, we played well all night," Foligno said. "It's frustrating to lose in a good game. Our line the last three games has been really good. I'm more just happy we're getting offense going and It's nice to finally cash in."

Michkov made it 3-2 at 18:16 with a shot from above the face-off circles during a delayed penalty with Ersson pulled for an extra skater.

Eriksson Ek tied the game 3-3 at 19:56 with a power-play goal.

Foligno put the Wild ahead 4-3 at 2:18 of the third period when he redirected Zach Bogosian's point shot.

Konecny tied it 4-4 at 4:55 with a power-play goal.

After Couturier's second goal gave the Flyers a 5-4 lead, Wild defenseman Jake Middleton scored to make it 5-5 at 13:28 of the third with a shot from the left point after holding in a clearing attempt.

Ristolainen gave the Flyers a 6-5 lead when he got to the front of the net and knocked a loose puck past Gustavsson at 17:36.

Couturier completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 19:00 for the 7-5 final. It was his second in the regular season.

"I've known 'Coots' for a long time," Konecny said. "Coots is one of those guys who puts in the effort every day. He tries hard, he's always a pro during practice, off the ice, and he's always doing the right things. It was just a matter of time before he had a game like this."

NOTES: Couturier's five points were a regular-season high. His only other regular-season hat trick was Jan. 16, 2019 against the Boston Bruins. ... Konecny had his first four-assist and five-point NHL game. ... It's the first time a Flyers player has had five points in a game since Jakub Voracek (Oct. 10, 2018 against Ottawa Senators). ... Kaprizov has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) during a five-game multipoint streak. … The Flyers won a game in which they allowed three tying goals for the first time since Dec. 7, 2019 (4-3 against Senators). … Philadelphia defenseman Cam York is expected to miss at least two weeks because of an upper-body injury sustained during the third period of a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. ... The Flyers sent forward Jett Luchanko, the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, to Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League on Saturday.