Since the start of the season, Bobby Brink had come so close to scoring his first NHL goal. He finally got on the board on Thursday night, then wasted little time doing it again.
Brink scored the first two goals of his NHL career in the Flyers 6-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.
The Flyers came out with plenty of jump, opening up a 12-4 lead in shots through the opening 20 minutes. They also got on the board first at 13:57.
Off a rush, Nick Seeler dropped a pass to Travis Konecny, who unleashed a wrist shot from the left circle over the shoulder of Filip Gustavsson to make it 1-0 with his sixth goal of the season.
The Flyers power play got going in the second period. At 7:28, the Flyers took just 17 seconds to funnel the puck to the net and score. Sean Couturier was in front to win the battle and put home a rebound for his second goal of the season to make it 2-0.
Just over two minutes later, a fortunate bounce led to a momentous goal for a Flyers rookie. The puck bounced off an official’s skate and right to Brink in the slot. Brink went five-hole to score his first NHL goal at 9:52.
Through two periods, the Flyers had a 25-13 lead in shots.
The third period opened with Minnesota making their push to get back into the game. They controlled the first six minutes and used that push to cut the lead to one quickly. At 3:05, Dakota Mermis broke up the shutout with his second goal of the season. Just 1:25 later, Marcus Foligno added his second goal of the season to make it a one-goal game.
But the Flyers had a quick response at 6:34. Cam Atkinson led Owen Tippett on a breakaway. Tippett scored for his first goal of the season.
From there, the Flyers put the game away. Brink scored his second goal of the game on a two-on-one with Joel Farabee at 11:02. At 14:46, Travis Sanheim scored from the slot for his first goal of the season to make it 6-2.
Carter Hart made 25 saves on 27 shots in the win. Gustavsson made 24 saves on 30 shots in the loss.
Sanheim finished with a goal and two assists. Atkinson had three assists. In addition to Brink’s two goals, Konecny and Couturier each had two points.
The Flyers return to the ice on Saturday afternoon to take on the Anaheim Ducks at 1 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Wild | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Flyers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Travis Konecny (6) (Nick Seeler) 13:57
2nd Period
- PHI Sean Couturier (2) PP (Cam Atkinson, Travis Sanheim) 7:28
- PHI Bobby Brink (1) PP (Couturier) 9:52
3rd Period
- MIN Dakota Mermis (2) (Pat Maroon, Jon Merrill) 3:05
- MIN Marcus Foligno (2) (Marcus Johansson, Marco Rossi) 4:30
- PHI Owen Tippett (1) (Atkinson) 6:34
- PHI Brink (2) (Joel Farabee, Sanheim) 11:02
- PHI Sanheim (1) (Tyson Foerster, Konecny) 14:46
Game Statistics
| Wild | Flyers | |
| Shots | 27 | 30 |
| Power Play | 0/2 | 2/3 |
| Hits | 8 | 11 |
| Faceoff % | 47% | 53% |
| Giveaways | 13 | 9 |
| Takeaways | 4 | 5 |
| Blocked Shots | 15 | 16 |
| Penalty Minutes | 11 | 9 |
