Kings halt Flyers’ win streak
PHILADELPHIA — Another third-period comeback by the Flyers on Monday night couldn’t keep their winning streak intact.
Only minutes after the Flyers erased a two-goal Los Angeles Kings edge midway through the third period, the Kings’ Dwight King scored off a two-on-one fast break. And although the Flyers spent the rest of the period keeping the visitors on the run, the gifted Kings escaped with a 3-2 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers (38-26-7, 83 points) thus had their streak of success stopped at five, and Wednesday travel up the Turnpike to meet a Rangers team that is right with them for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers, feeling the adrenaline of their two-goal comeback to get the game even, put a bit too much risk into their plucky puck pressure. That allowed the Kings to break back two on one, and King promptly untied the game at the 10:36 mark of the third period.
Jeff Carter, in his first game in Philadelphia since being dealt to first Columbus and then Los Angeles, opened the scoring 1:49 into the second period. Despite the goal, Flyers goalie Ray Emery spent much of the period — and the bulk of the second — looking very good in the crease.
The Kings dominated the first 40 minutes and outshot the Flyers, 33-18, by the second intermission.
They also had a two-goal cushion because Justin Williams jumped on a bad Emery rebound — probably because he had to be tired by then — with 2:32 left in the second and deposited it for a 2-0 Kings lead.
That wild second period had also included what turned out to be a notorious Flyers miss.
For all his years of offensive wizardry, Vinny Lecavalier probably pulled off one of the more remarkable shots of his career. He slipped into the slot unnoticed, set up camp at pointblank range in front of the Kings’ net, waited patiently for Brayden Schenn to pass him the puck and then appeared to slip as he shot.
The puck hit the right post, then the crossbar, then the left post and bounded away, leaving the Flyers feeling empty.
But down two to start the third, they came up with a goal all of 29 seconds into the period as Matt Read deflected a shot by Braydon Coburn past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.
Then Scott Hartnell kept a puck in the zone and threw it netward, and Jake Voracek tipped it home at 8:18 to tie the game.