Travis Konecny’s late third-period goal propelled the Philadelphia Flyers past the visiting Vancouver Canucks by a 3-2 score on Saturday afternoon.
Konecny picked up a tight rebound and made no mistake with just over six minutes to go in the final frame, completing a Flyers comeback after they entered the second period in a 2-0 hole.
The win gives the Flyers a 2-0 start under new head coach John Tortorella. They allowed the first goal in each contest.
The Canucks got the scoring started early on a Kyle Burroughs tally just 1:34 into the contest. The Flyers had three consecutive power plays in short order after the game-opening goal but failed to connect before Canucks winger Conor Garland slipped a wrister passed the blocker of Flyers netminder Carter Hart to provide his team with a two-goal lead.
In fact, the Flyers had five consecutive man-advantages between the first and second periods, finally connecting on their fifth when Tony DeAngelo’s long-range shot beat Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.
The Flyers tied the game late in the second while short-handed. Konecny reached a streaking Scott Laughton on a bank pass with the latter firing a wrister over the glove of Demko to tie the game heading into the intermission.
Hart made 27 saves to earn his second win of the season, none bigger than a second-period sprawling stop on the doorstep off the stick of Canucks rookie Andrei Kuzmenko when Vancouver held a 2-0 lead.
Demko took his second straight loss of the young season, making 28 saves on Saturday. Demko surrendered four goals on 20 shots in another come-from-behind loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in a game Vancouver once led 3-0.
The Canucks earned a power play with less than two minutes remaining in the third period but failed to connect for the tying marker.
Canucks defenseman Tucker Poolman left after the first period and did not return. The Canucks are already without Travis Dermott (concussion) and Tyler Myers (lower-body injury) on the back end. A Burroughs fight with the Flyers’ Nicolas Deslauriers with just over seven minutes to go left the team with four defensemen.
–Field Level Media
