When the captain struck for a late power-play goal, it appeared the Flyers struggles in the standings were finally over. Just three minutes separated the Flyers from at least a point and a chance for more.
But in the final minute, it all changed on a broken play.
The puck took a strange hop off the end boards and went straight to the stick of Ryan Suter who threaded a pass to Jason Zucker for the game-winning goal with 45.4 seconds left in regulation as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Flyers, 3-2, on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The game remained scoreless through the first. But the Flyers were generating chances late.
Led once again by the top line, the Flyers came close to scoring late in the first and early in the second, but could not beat Darcy Kuemper, who made several dazzling saves.
Minnesota scored first at 10:59 of the second on the power play. A shot by Nino Neiderreiter managed to beat Ray Emery for the game's first goal.
But the Flyers would answer moments later at 14:31. Wayne Simmonds forced a turnover on the boards and found Vincent Lecavalier with space. After creating space, Lecavalier put a pass right on the tape of Mark Streit in the slot and he put the puck past Kuemper to even the score.
The Wild struck again early in the third to retake the lead. Shortly after a power play, Marco Scandella fired a shot high over Emery's glove to put Minnesota back in front.
The Flyers tried to find the equalizer but couldn't seem to beat Kuemper until a late power play.
With help from Jake Voracek and a great pass from Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux drilled a one-timer from the left circle past Kuemper to tie the game with 3:30 to play.
But in the final minute, Emery was helpless on a broken play that found Zucker alone in front for a slam dunk goal. The Wild held off the Flyers final attempts to seal the win.
Kuemper made 37 saves in the win, as the Flyers peppered the Minnesota goalie with shots.
Scandella and Niederreiter each had two points. Giroux and Voracek each tallied points one night after being held off the scoresheet.
Emery also made 27 saves in the loss.
The Flyers have now lost four straight games to drop to 7-9-2 on the season. They host the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team that handed the Flyers their first loss on this losing streak, on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
