Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Read’s pair lifts Flyers over Wild
Matt Read scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period, Steve Mason stopped 24 shots and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 Thursday night.
Matt Read scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period, Steve Mason stopped 24 shots and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 Thursday night.
Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek also scored for the Flyers, who won for the third time in their last eight games (3-5-0).
Zach Parise scored for Minnesota and Devin Dubnyk stopped 24 shots for the Wild, who have lost six of their last seven.
Both teams generated a flurry of scoring chances early, but the Wild struck first on a seemingly harmless play.
Gustav Olofsson’s outlet pass from his own blue line was tipped in the neutral zone and the puck skittered toward the Flyers net. Mason bobbled it and Eric Staal poked it free before Mason could recover, and Parise pounced immediately, burying his 17th of the season just 2:07 into the game.
The Flyers tied it with 2:01 left in the first on Couturier’s 12th goal of the season. Couturier initially fanned on Brayden Schenn’s centering pass, but he got a second chance and pushed a backhander that slipped between Dubnyk’s legs.
Philadelphia broke the tie just 21 seconds into the second period, taking advantage of some sloppy play by the Wild in their own zone. Read jumped on a loose puck in front of the Minnesota net and fired it past Dubnyk for his 10th of the year and second in two games.
Voracek’s empty netter in the final minute sealed it for the Flyers.
NOTES: Wild F Ryan White was scratched due to the flu . ... Flyers D Brandon Manning was back on the ice after missing five games with an injured shoulder . ... Minnesota signed former University of Wisconsin forward Luke Kunin, its first pick in the 2016 draft, to a three-year contract on Thursday. Kunin, captain of the US team that won a gold medal at this year’s World Junior Championship, was assigned to Iowa of the AHL.