Schenn’s early goal enough as Neuvirth, Flyers blank Panthers

Brayden Schenn picked up a rebound after a great effort by a driving Sam Gagner. At 5:57, the Flyers had the lead.

Wells Fargo Center was roaring following the goal, which came almost immediately after a huge momentum booster for the Flyers, who had successfully killed a four-minute, double-minor.

That goal would be the only offense of the night for either side, as Michal Neuvirth's first start with the Flyers was a 1-0 shutout win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers started the game with four minutes of shorthanded play following a high-sticking double-minor on Michael Raffl. The Flyers killed off the penalty and took the momentum.

Less than a minute after killing off the double-minor, Gagner charged up the wing and powered his way to the front of the net. His attempt was stopped, but on the rebound, Schenn was there to bury the chance, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 5:57 of the first.

The rest of the first period featured power plays for both sides and an electric scrum behind the Florida net.

Wayne Simmonds leveled Dmitry Kulikov with a hit in the corner. As the Panthers retaliated, Simmonds grabbed a hold of Connor Brickley and started landing punches. The scrum resulted in roughing double-minors for Brickley and Simmonds, while Alex Petrovic was also called for a roughing minor.

The second period was an evenly-played chess match, as the two teams continued to trade power plays. The Flyers grabbed more control in the latter stages of the second, generating 14 shots to the Panthers seven in the period.

Florida came out with more jump in the third, trying everything to get the tying goal. Neuvirth was up for the task. Going as far as to make a sprawling save with his glove on the ice, Brian Boucher style, Neuvirth stopped all 31 shots from the Panthers to earn the shutout in his first start with the Flyers.

The Flyers brought their record to 1-1-1 and return to home ice on Wednesday when they face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. The opening face-off is set for 8 p.m.

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.