Flyers Down Kings, Get Back-to-Back Wins for 1st Time This Season

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

In their previous games, both the Flyers and Kings had snapped losing streaks. One team was going to string together back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

The Flyers got off to a first-period lead for the second straight game and closed strong, putting away the Kings in the third in a 5-2 win on Thursday night.

The Flyers got off to another great start on the road, but were in threat to lose the momentum as the Kings got early chances on the power play. The Flyers killed a penalty in the first four minutes of the game, then had to kill 1:36 of 5-on-3 time for the Kings midway through the period.

Ultimately, the Flyers survived, and that allowed them the chance to get the first goal, which they did at 17:35. Dale Weise mishandled the puck briefly in an attempt to control for a shot chance. Instead, he regained control and centered for Ivan Provorov, who beat Jack Campbell with a quick shot to put the Flyers on the board first for the second straight game.

The Flyers outshot the Kings, 13-7, in the first period.

The Kings started to get more space in the second period. Back on the power play midway through the period, they finally broke through. A failed clear by Jori Lehtera allowed the Kings to remain in control, and Jeff Carter picked up his own rebound on a chance to tie the game at 10:04.

Much like in Anaheim, the Flyers had a quick response to a tying goal. Oskar Lindblom once again went to work behind the net and centered in front to Wayne Simmonds, who one-timed a shot home to put the Flyers back on top just 49 seconds after Carter's goal.

Just over three minutes later, a break went the Flyers way. Good puck protection from Jake Voracek allowed him to get the puck on net on a turnaround chance. Digging for the rebound, the puck was in the skates of Lindblom and he was able to get it on net and score. The play was reviewed and Lindblom did use a kicking motion to direct the puck on goal, but it was also determined that the puck hit the stick of a Kings defenseman, allowing the goal to stand and giving the Flyers a 3-1 lead.

Late in the period, the Kings pushed back and that turned into a goal. Ilya Kovalchuk got his own rebound as the Flyers allowed the Kings too much space in the offensive zone, cutting the lead to one with 1:19 to play in the period.

The Flyers had to withstand an early penalty kill in the third and some good pressure from the Kings. In addition, a few things didn't break their way. Jordan Weal hit the post, Weise was stopped in close by the pad of Campbell and Voracek was stopped on a breakaway.

The Flyers stayed with it though, and a steal at the Flyers blue line by Sean Couturier set up Claude Giroux ahead of the field. Giroux caught up to the loose puck and scored on the breakaway, giving the Flyers a two-goal lead with 5:33 left in the third.

Robert Hagg hit an empty net from 200 feet away with 3:11 remaining to cap the scoring.

Brian Elliott made 25 saves in the win and also picked up an assist on Hagg's empty-net goal. Campbell stopped 26 of 30 shots faced.

Lindblom had the first multi-point game of his career. Nolan Patrick also finished with a pair of assists.

The road trip continues for the Flyers in San Jose on Saturday night as they face the Sharks at 10:30 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Ivan Provorov (2) (Dale Weise, Jordan Weal) 17:35

2nd Period

• LA Jeff Carter (3) PP (Anze Kopitar, Ilya Kovalchuk) 10:04
• PHI Wayne Simmonds (7) (Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick) 10:53
• PHI Lindblom (3) (Jake Voracek) 14:05
• LA Kovalchuk (4) (Carter, Tyler Toffoli) 18:41

3rd Period

• PHI Claude Giroux (4) (Sean Couturier) 14:27
• PHI Robert Hagg (3) EN (Brian Elliott) 16:49

Game Statistics