PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sean Couturier had a hat trick, assisted on the game-winner by Rasmus Ristolainen and the Philadelphia Flyers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 7-5 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
The loss was the first in regulation for Minnesota and snapped its seven-game point streak to start the season.
Ristolainen, who is usually a stay-at-home defenseman, crashed the net and jammed home the rebound of Couturier’s shot for his first goal of the season at 17:36 of the third period.
Couturier, who entered the game with a 32-game goal drought, scored the first one of the game a little more than a minute in, added a second goal on a scrum in front of the net in the third period, and finished off the hat trick with an empty net goal.
Couturier’s first goal was his 500th point in his NHL career.
Travis Konecny had a goal and three assists, Nick Seeler had a goal and an assist and rookie Matvei Michkov scored the first even-strength goal if his career for Philadelphia.
Marcus Foligno scored a pair of goals for Minnesota. Brock Faber, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Jake Middleton also scored for the Wild, who allowed at least five goals in regulation for the first time this season.
TAKEAWAYS
Wild: Matt Boldy may not have scored a goal, but he was a menace in the game registering nine shots on goal. He seemed to create a lot of offense for Minnesota and eventually earned a secondary assist on Eriksson Ek’s power play goal.
Flyers: Jett Luchanko, who on opening night became the youngest player to ever play in a game in franchise history, was sent back to Guelph of the OHL after playing just four games. The Flyers roster is in a bit of a transition as G.M. Danny Briere announced before the game that defenseman Cam York will miss at least two weeks with an upper body injury. Briere said the Flyers would make moves to replace both players after the game.
KEY MOMENT
The third period saw a different Flyers team than each of the first two periods. Philadelphia had just six shots on goal through two periods but registered 17 shots on goal in the final 20 minutes. The Flyers scored four goals in the final period to secure the win.
KEY STAT
2 – The Flyers became just the second team to score more than two goals against the stingy defense and goaltending of the Wild this season.
UP NEXT
The Wild are off until Tuesday when they wrap up their seven-game road trip in Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia will play its third back-to-back in the first nine games of the season on Sunday when they host Montreal.
Anthony Sanfilippo, The Associated Press
