Provorov Strikes Twice as Flyers Down Blackhawks

(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

On the night Ivan Provorov scored his first NHL goal, two goals from the opposition put a damper on a memorable night.

Provorov made his own impact on Saturday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring twice in 31 seconds and helping the Flyers to their fourth straight win, 3-1, at Wells Fargo Center.

The Blackhawks opened the scoring early in the first, capitalizing on a Flyers mistake.

Artem Anisimov drew all the attention to his side of the ice as he carried the puck along the wall. Provorov got turned around as Anisimov made a move, allowing him to move in on goal and thread a pass through a diving Michael Del Zotto to Artemi Panarin for the easy one-timer. It was Panarin's ninth goal of the season.

The Flyers controlled most of the first period, getting the only power play on a bench minor by Chicago and outshooting the Blackhawks, 16-6, in the first 20 minutes.

The Flyers kept the pressure on to start the second and this time, their shots started to find the net.

It started at 3:02 when Provorov took a pass from Nick Cousins and let go a slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle. The shot hit a Chicago defenseman and rose over Scott Darling to tie the game.

Just 31 seconds later, Provorov was on the board again. This time, it was a slick wrister that beat Darling clean and just like that, the Flyers were in front.

The Flyers extended the lead at 8:37 off a counter-rush. With a three-on-two, Travis Konecny put on the brakes after entering the zone and perfectly timed a pass to Brayden Schenn, who went in and put a shot past Darling to make it 3-1.

Provorov wasn't just scoring goals, he was saving them too. Late in the second, a net-mouth scramble ended with a whistle and stoppage of play, but led to a review. Off a chance for Richard Panik, the puck floated in mid-air along the goalline before Provorov fished it out of the net. The replay was inconclusive, but the puck appeared to be going across the line as Provorov's glove began to bring it back out.

At the end of the second, the Flyers held the shots advantage, 24-19.

That would be enough for the Flyers, who played a solid defensive third period while Steve Mason took care of the rest. In all, Mason made 25 saves to preserve the win for the Flyers. 

The win also marked the Flyers first four-game winning streak of the season.

The Flyers are back in action again on Sunday, traveling to face the Nashville Predators. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• CHI Artemi Panarin (9) (Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane) 3:44

2nd Period

• PHI Ivan Provorov (2) (Nick Cousins, Chris VandeVelde) 3:02
• PHI Provorov (3) (Michael Raffl) 3:33
• PHI Brayden Schenn (4) (Travis Konecny) 8:37

3rd Period

• No Scoring

Game Statistics