The Flyers loss to Nashville on Saturday was somewhat expected, especially off of a break. But as the road trip entered the latter half of eight games, the schedule appeared to be significantly easier.
The Arizona Coyotes had other ideas.
A late goal in the first by Shane Doan gave the Coyotes the lead and they never looked back, downing the Flyers, 3-1, on Monday night at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Az.
The Flyers controlled most of the first period, out-shooting the Coyotes, 14-6. But one of the Coyotes shots made it through.
Shane Doan came in on the right wing and fired a shot that deflected off Nick Grossmann and beat Steve Mason through the five-hole to give Arizona the lead at 18:26.
Arizona used the momentum to control the second period. They started to even out the shots and struck again at 15:31 as Antoine Vermette pounced on a rebound for his second goal of the game and 10th of the season.
Early in the third, a power play provided the opportunity for Arizona to put the game away. They did just that on a rush as Oliver Ekman-Larsson fired a shot past Mason to make it a 3-0 game.
The Flyers finally managed to get on the board with 7:49 remaining in the third. Mark Streit made a nice pass into the slot to R.J. Umberger who buried it.
Umberger would strike again for his second of the game immediately following a Flyers power play. As the power play ended, Sean Couturier fired a shot toward the net that Umberger tipped past Devan Dubnyk at 15:13. The assist was Couturier's 100th career point.
The Flyers continued the push in the final minutes, but Vermette ultimately ended the game with an empty-net goal for his second goal of the game with 30 seconds left in regulation.
The Flyers finished with 32 shots as compared to 25 for the Coyotes. Mason made 21 saves in the loss.
The Flyers continue the road trip on Wednesday night in a New Year's Eve game against the Colorado Avalanche. The opening face-off is set for 9 p.m.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
