Couturier scores 1st goal in 22 months, Flyers shut out Canucks  

PHILADELPHIA -- Sean Couturier scored his first goal in 22 months, and Carter Hart made 25 saves for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks in their home opener at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.

Couturier had not scored since Dec. 10, 2021. He left the lineup eight days later and had back surgery twice before returning for the Flyers' season opener at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 12.

"Obviously I dream about scoring goals in the NHL, but coming into the game I just focus on doing the little details right, play the right way and lead by example, and chances will come, points will come," Couturier said. "Just got to stick to it."

Egor Zamula scored his first NHL goal for Philadelphia (2-1-0). Hart's shutout was his sixth in the NHL.

"We did an unbelievable job just keeping the pressure on them," Hart said. "Establishing our forecheck, throwing pucks to the net and generating some chances off rebounds and making some plays. We played really well tonight."

Thatcher Demko made 40 saves for Vancouver (2-1-0), which won its first two games of the season.

"I can't even pick one guy who played well except Demko, who was unreal," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. "He was great tonight, and the rest of the guys weren't."

Couturier put the Flyers ahead 2-0 on a penalty-shot goal at 17:23 of the first period. He was on a breakaway when he was slashed from behind by Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson.

On the penalty shot attempt, he skated into the right face-off circle, turned his back on Demko, then spun in the crease and scored past his blocker.

"In the last two years, I've had too much time to think about it and work on it," Couturier said. "So, just glad it worked."

Couturier's teammates are just as excited to see him back and playing well. He also had an assist against the Blue Jackets.

"He's missed a long time and for him to come back and work his way back and play the way he's playing right now," Hart said. "He's a huge part of our team and a leader. He's been here for a long time, and we look to him for leadership and he's done an amazing job. He's got a tremendous work ethic to work all the way back after not playing for that long and he's come in like he hasn't missed a beat."

Zamula, playing his 28th NHL game, made it 1-0 at 1:45 of the first. A loose puck rolled back to the defenseman at the point, and his wrist shot beat Demko.

The Flyers outshot the Canucks 22-3 in the second period.

"We've got some guys, they better pick it up," Tocchet said. "I don't like the word soft, but I didn't see guys competing at all. And that's alarming. But saying that, we win two games, let's not get too high, it was a bad effort, so let's not get too low. But we've obviously got to go to the drawing board with some guys.

"We were off all over. We were off every single system part of it. And then the compete wasn't there. They competed and we didn't. Bottom line."

The Canucks appeared to score at 3:26 of the third period, but the goal was overturned after a replay review showed Conor Garland interfered with Hart.

Vancouver had eight shots on goal in the final 16:34 of the third.

"That wasn't up to our standard," Canucks forward J.T. Miller said. "We didn't win enough battles, not strong on the puck, not sticking to the criteria of what makes our team good. We just got away from our game. Not how we want to play."

NOTES: Couturier's penalty-shot goal was the first by the Flyers since Jakub Voracek on Oct. 29, 2016. They had been 0-for-10 since then. ... Couturier's penalty-shot attempt was the seventh in the NHL this season, tied for the most through the first eight days of any season in NHL history (2005-06, 2013-14). ... The Flyers are 4-0-1 in their past five home openers. ... Defenseman Carson Soucy had one shot on goal in 15:53 of ice time in his Canucks debut. He missed the first two games of the season because of an undisclosed injury.