Steve Mason couldn't grab Oliver Ekman-Larsson's wrist shot for the game-winning goal in the final seconds of the second period.
If you didn't know any better, you would have thought it was the Flyers, not the Phoenix Coyotes, in the midst of a four-game road trip. You would have thought it was the Coyotes, not the Flyers, who had three days to prepare.
The lifeless Flyers continued their early-season struggles and couldn't steal a victory, falling to the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-1, on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers generated three solid scoring chances in the game's first two minutes, but it was the Coyotes who would strike first on a deflection. Derek Morris wristed a shot that was tipped in by Rob Klinkhammer.
While shorthanded, the Flyers would generate a golden scoring chance, as Adam Hall forced a breakaway and drew a penalty shot. On the attempt, Hall lost control of the poke as goaltender Thomas Greiss missed on the poke-check attempt but kept the puck out of the net.
In the first period, the Flyers would outshoot the Coyotes, 16-12.
The Flyers continued to apply pressure in the second. Despite falling victim to Phoenix in the shot totals – the Coyotes led the second in shots, 14-11 – they tied the score on a deflection in front by Max Talbot off a Zac Rinaldo shot at 17:29.
Moments later, Rinaldo was called for a high-sticking penalty during a post-whistle scuffle. With just 12 seconds remaining in the period, Oliver Ekman-Larsson fired a shot that hit off the glove of Steve Mason and rolled in to give the Coyotes the lead again.
The Flyers defense limited the number of shots from Phoenix in the third to just five. They also generated fewer chances, firing 10 shots in the period. None of those shots beat Greiss.
Greiss made 36 saves in getting the win in his first start of the season. With the exception of the second Phoenix goal, Mason was solid as well, stopping 29 shots.
The Flyers would lose more than just the game. Scott Hartnell left the game in the first with an upper-body injury. Vincent Lecavalier left following the second with a lower-body injury. Both are expected to be out at least a week and will have MRIs on Saturday.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Flyers, who have to travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Saturday and will get visits from the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins in the next week.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Flyerdelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
