Van Riemsdyk gets hat trick for Flyers in win against Wild

PHILADELPHIA -- James van Riemsdyk had his first hat trick of the season for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-4 win against the Minnesota Wild at Wells Fargo Center on Monday.

It was van Riemsdyk's first three-goal game with the Flyers since returning as an unrestricted free agent July 1. He spent his first three NHL seasons with Philadelphia, scoring a hat trick against the New York Islanders on March 26, 2011.
Nolan Patrick had two goals and two assists, Wayne Simmonds scored twice, and Scott Laughton had three assists for Philadelphia (17-23-6), which won for the second time in 11 games (2-7-2). Carter Hart made 34 saves.
WATCH: [All Wild vs. Flyers highlights]
"We haven't had very many of these this year," Simmonds said. "Felt good to put the puck in the back of the net, [Hart] played well and I thought we did a good job."
Jason Zucker, Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Suter scored for Minnesota (22-20-3), which had won five of eight. Devan Dubnyk was pulled after the second period after allowing five goals on 20 shots. Alex Stalock made five saves in relief.
"It was a game that was winnable for us and we didn't take advantage of it and it stings," Foligno said.
Van Riemsdyk has five goals in his past four games after scoring six times in his first 27. He credits his current strong play to a meeting he had with coach Scott Gordon prior to a game against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 8.

"When you play in one place for a long time and there's certain details that are part of a system that you're playing, and maybe here you're going to have some things that are different," Van Riemsdyk said. "Nice to get some clarification on certain things because maybe you don't even realize you're not doing it the way they want you to do it. For us to have that dialogue is healthy."
Gordon said the two seasons (2012-14) he spent as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs while van Riemsdyk was there helped.
"I knew what he was capable of so I could fall back on our experience in Toronto and what I saw there and what I wasn't seeing here," Gordon said.
The Wild took a 2-0 lead in the first with goals 52 seconds apart. Zucker made it 1-0 on the power play at 7:34, and Eriksson Ek made it 2-0 at 8:26. It was Eriksson Ek's first goal in 20 games.
Van Riemsdyk cut it to 2-1 at 12:04 when he tipped a Jakub Voracek shot on the power play. The goal was upheld after Wild coach Bruce Boudreau challenged for offside.
Van Riemsdyk tipped Claude Giroux's shot for a 2-2 tie at 18:48.
"I like the way we started, and we came to play," Foligno said. "It's just one of those things where they're offensive, they can score. We've just got to be stronger defensively."
Foligno scored from in front to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead at 2:23 of the second, but Patrick tied it 3-3 at 4:59 with his first goal in 25 games.

"It weighs on you quite a bit and it's something you think about quite a bit when you go through a slump like that," Patrick said. "You just have to believe in yourself and keep trying to do things that help the team. ... Didn't think it would take that long, but it happens."
Patrick put the Flyers ahead 4-3 at 15:28 with his second goal, lifting a Travis Sanheim rebound between his skates. He then assisted on Simmonds' goal at 19:54 to make it 5-3.

Suter scored at 8:18 of the third to make it 5-4. The goal was waved off because of goalie interference, but Boudreau challenged and the call was overturned after officials ruled Wild forward Eric Staal had been pushed into Hart by Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg.
Simmonds scored on a breakaway at 10:43 to make it 6-4, and van Riemsdyk scored into an empty net with 1:17 left for the 7-4 final.

They said it

"They have no choice. This is our job. If they can't get up we don't have the group that's going to do it anyway. We've got to change the script. We'll get home early enough, get rested and come back and play." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on playing the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday
"My emphasis was, all of sudden because we're down 2-0 think that we've got to get this game won in the next shift, or it has to be won in the first period. I thought the guys responded well." -- Flyers coach Scott Gordon on what he said during a first-period time out

Need to know

Zucker has four points (three goals, one assist) during a three-game point streak. … Wild forward Zach Parise has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games. ... The Flyers' seven goals tied their season high; they also scored seven against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 10. ... Patrick had his first four-point NHL game. ... Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald blocked three shots in 14:42 after missing six games with a lower-body injury.

What's next

Wild:Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN)
Flyers: Host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN)