Elliott, Flyers Lock Down 3rd Straight Win in Vancouver

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Entering the third period, the Flyers found themselves with a familiar lead. 3-1.

For the second straight night, holding a two-goal lead during the final period wasn't an issue, as the Flyers locked down their third straight win, sweeping the Western Canada trip with a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

The Canucks came out firing on the Flyers early in the first, taking the game's first nine shots, aiding by an early power play as well. The Flyers eventually got a power play of their own and were able to use that to even up the shot totals as the period passed the midway point.

On their second power play, the Flyers took advantage to grab the lead. A point shot by Shayne Gostisbehere changed direction twice on the way in, beating Jacob Markstrom to make it 1-0 at 14:08.

That would be the only goal of the first period, as the Canucks outshot the Flyers, 15-12.

The Flyers continued to attack to start the second and got a quick reward out of it.

Jake Voracek carried the puck into the zone and just tried to throw it toward the side of the net on a dump-in. But the red-hot Michael Raffl got his stick on the attempt and deflected it in to make it a 2-0 game with his fifth goal of the season just 45 seconds into the period.

As the game neared the midway point, the Flyers found themselves back on the power play and again took advantage.

Cycling the puck around the perimeter, Gostisbehere set up Claude Giroux for a one-timer that beat Markstrom to make it 3-0 at the 9:52 mark of the period. It was Giroux's 12th goal of the season. 

But late in the period, the Canucks kept the pressure on and finally cashed in. Brock Boeser and Sven Baertschi crashed the net as a scramble ensued and Boeser got his stick on a shot to lift the puck into the net with just 19 seconds left in the second. The Flyers challenged for goalie interference, but the call stood.

Shots through two periods was 28-17 Canucks.

The third period was more of a strategic chess match. The Canucks started to apply pressure in the second half of the period, but lost time with the Flyers getting a power play that erased two minutes.

The Canucks pulled the goalie in a last attempt to get the game tied, but Wayne Simmonds put an end to that with another empty-net goal to seal the win.

Brian Elliott was sharp in goal in the final period, making all nine saves in the final period and 36 for the game in his 200th career win.

Voracek had three assists in the game, bringing his season total to 30, which is tops in the NHL. Giroux and Gostisbehere each had two-point games.

The Flyers finished 2-for-6 on the power play and held the Canucks to 0-for-2 on the power play.

The Flyers now get a few days off from game action, returning home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Shayne Gostisbehere (4) PP (Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux) 14:08

2nd Period

• PHI Michael Raffl (5) (Voracek) 0:45
• PHI Giroux (12) PP (Gostisbehere, Voracek) 9:52
• VAN Brock Boeser (14) (Sven Baertschi, Michael Del Zotto) 19:40

3rd Period

• PHI Wayne Simmonds (10) EN (Unassisted) 18:58

Game Statistics