PHILADELPHIA — Travis Konecny had a goal and two assists, Scott Laughton added a goal and an assist and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-3 on Monday night for their fourth straight win.
Morgan Frost, Jamie Drysdale and Owen Tippett also scored for the Flyers, whose winning streak has come following the All-Star break. Philadelphia, third in the Metropolitan Division, entered the break on a five-game losing streak. Sam Ersson made 20 saves.
“We just kept on playing and stayed with it," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "Good for them.”
Matt Dumba, Matias Maccelli and Alex Kerfoot scored for Arizona, which has lost six in a row, including three straight since the All-Star break. The Coyotes’ last win came on Jan. 22. Karel Vejmelka finished with 29 saves.
“We need to find a way to be more stingy defensively,” Arizona coach André Tourigny said. “We were in the box way too much. We had a few turnovers that cost us a lot. We had our chance at the end to tie, but we just could not get it done.”
The Flyers trailed 3-2 after two periods before scoring three times in the third.
Drysdale tied it 3-3 at 6:12 when his shot went off the skate of defenseman Dumba and past Vejmelka. Konecny upped his club-leading total to 50 points with an assist on the play.
Laughton put the Flyers in front with 9:39 left when he scored on a wraparound that made it 4-3. Philadelphia got a power play following the goal as Dumba was whistled for a high-sticking double-minor but it was reduced to a minor only after the goal was scored. Dumba’s stick cut Laughton as he was making his move to shoot.
Tippett sealed the win with an empty-netter with 1:21 left.
“Wasn’t our best game," Konecny said. "We just found a way to win. That’s what we’re learning. And that’s a good thing for our group."
Ersson kept the Flyers in front with a stellar, glove stop of Jason Zucker’s backhand try from in front of the crease with 5:32 to play.
“For us to have the lead and not be able to hold it is tough to swallow,” Coyotes' Nick Bjugstad said.
Each team scored two goals in an entertaining second period.
It looked like the Flyers had tied the game 1-1 early in the period, but Travis Sanheim’s apparent goal was taken off the board following a video review that determined Philadelphia was offside on the play.
Philadelphia did even the score at 4:23 when Frost converted his ninth of the season on a penalty shot after being hauled down by Michael Kesselring. Frost patiently waited before shooting past Vejmelka’s blocker side.
Maccelli put Arizona ahead 2-1 at 7:57 after shooting from behind the goal line, off Ersson and into the net.
However, Konecny tied it with his team-leading 22nd goal by finishing a 2-on-1 with Laughton at 9:55 with the teams skating 4-on-4.
Kerfoot put the Coyotes ahead 3-2 with a beautiful deke to his backhand after getting in all alone on Ersson, making it 3-2 with 5:58 left in the second.
Philadelphia’s Tyson Foerster (lower body) was not in the lineup after blocking a shot in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Seattle.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night to open a four-game homestand.
Flyers: At Toronto on Thursday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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