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

PHILADELPHIA -- Sean Couturier had a hat trick and two assists for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7-5 win against the Minnesota Wild at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

Couturier hadn't scored a goal since Feb. 10 (32 games). His first of the night was also his 500th NHL point.

"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."

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

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

"It was a little bit of a weird game," Wild coach John Hynes said. "(We) 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 pushback, Foligno scoring. There were lots of good components to the game, too."

Couturier made it 1-0 at 1:18 of the first period when he scored from in front off the rebound of Ristolainen's shot.

He scored on a similar play 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 of the first with a shot from between the top of the circles.

Brock Faber cut it to 2-1 at 14:54 of the second period, redirecting a shot by Kaprizov, and Foligno scored 33 seconds later off a rush from the right side to tie it 2-2.

"Our line, we played well all night," said Foligno, whose goal was his first of the season. "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 gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead at 18:16. He scored on 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 his own power-play goal.

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

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

Couturier completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 19:00 for the 7-5 final. It was his second career hat trick in the regular season (Jan. 16, 2019).

"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 career high. ... 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 on 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 the Senators). … Philadelphia defenseman Cam York is expected to miss at least two weeks because of an upper-body injury he 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.