{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Arizona 5, Philadelphia 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 27, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Frederic L'Ecuyer, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 19432

PHILADELPHIA -- It took a pair of unusual goals that stood up to review and a frantic final minute on the penalty kill, but the Arizona Coyotes halted a five-game losing streak with a wild 5-4 win over the Flyers Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

"Between the goals going in, and fights, and things breaking and challenges, it was crazy," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "But we needed a win to end the road trip and we'll take it and go home.

"I think we learned a lot on this trip about how we have to play. If the old saying that adversity makes you stronger is true, we gained some strength this trip."

Playing in place of injured starter Mike Smith, backup goaltender Louis Domingue made 28 saves and received goals from left winger Jamie McGinn, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, centers Martin Hanzal and Brad Richardson and right winger Ryan White to give the Coyotes their first win since a season-opening victory over the Flyers back on Oct. 15. The two teams will not play again this season.

The Flyers (3-4-1) received goals from centers Nick Cousins and Brayden Schenn, defenseman Andrew MacDonald and right winger Wayne Simmonds, but lost for the second time in three games.

Goaltender Steve Mason was shaky in the loss, allowing five goals on 25 shots to fall to 2-4-1.

"We're fortunate enough to come back every once in a while but we can't continuously be fighting from behind," MacDonald said. "We battled back to make it 2-2, then just sloppy play and poor reads."

With the score knotted at 2-2 through two periods, the Coyotes took a 3-2 lead when half the crowd was focused on a fight 100 feet away. While Schenn and Jakob Chychrun were getting ready to throw punches at center ice, Hanzal was finishing off a beautiful 2-on-1 with left winger Max Domi for a tap-in goal 6:31 into the period.

"I was wondering how it was going to go because you could tell one referee signaled it as a good goal," Tippett said. "But I didn't know what the other one was doing by the fight."

After a brief huddle the referees decided Hanzal scored just before their whistle blew the play dead.

The Coyotes made it 4-2 less than two minutes later with Richardson's third goal of the season and first while short-handed. On a 2-on-1 with left winger Tobias Rieder, Richardson raced toward a bouncing puck in the slot. Mason tried poke-checking the puck but it bounced off the chest of Richardson and the two crashed into the net together, along with the puck.

"There's goalie contact that prevents you from making the save and they made their call," Mason said. "We don't have to agree with it."

The Flyers answered with MacDonald's first goal of the season on a blast from the point with 11:26 to play, but unlike their previous game, a comeback was not in the cards. White sealed it for the Coyotes with his first goal of the season with 4:19 to play.

It proved to be a crucial goal because Simmonds scored to make it 5-4 with 15.3 seconds remaining with White in the box for closing his hand on the puck.

"It was good to put the final nail in the coffin and a good win for us," White said. "It was nice to see Louie (Domingue) get one. I thought he played good tonight. He stopped (Claude) Giroux point blank and sometimes it's not how many saves you make, but when you make them."

The Flyers have been chronically slow starters this season and it continued against the Coyotes, who took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by McGinn and Ekman-Larsson. It marked the fourth straight home game the Flyers failed to score in the opening period and they've now been outscored 8-1 in eight first periods this season.

McGinn, who scored 22 goals last season with the Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks, netted his first goal for the Coyotes when he snapped a shot that rolled up and over the shoulder of Mason 7:33 into the game.

Ekman-Larsson continued his torrid start by blasting his fifth goal of the season past Mason after a defensive-zone giveaway by Philadelphia defenseman Brandon Manning.

The Flyers put some heavy pressure on Domingue in the second period and netted a pair of goals to tie it. Cousins scored his first of the season 9:34 into the second period when he tapped in a Schenn rebound. Schenn followed with his second power-play goal of the season with five minutes remaining.

NOTES: Coyotes D Luke Schenn faced his younger brother, Flyers C Brayden Schenn, for the first time since Luke was traded by the Flyers last season. ... Coyotes RW Ryan White faced his former team for the first time since leaving Philadelphia to sign with the Coyotes. ... Flyers C Claude Giroux picked up his NHL-high ninth assists. ... C Dylan Strome, LW Lawson Crouse and D Kevin Connauton were scratched for the Coyotes. C Boyd Gordon and D Nick Schultz were the Flyers' scratches. Gordon came out of the lineup to make room for RW Dale Weise. ... Before the game, the Flyers honored members of their own Hall of Fame, including Hockey Hall of Famers Bob Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Mark Howe and Eric Lindros.
Top Game Performances
 
Arizona   Philadelphia
Brad Richardson 2 Points Brayden Schenn 3
Brad Richardson 1 Goals Brayden Schenn 1
Brad Richardson 1 Assists Brayden Schenn 2
N/A Power Play Goals Brayden Schenn 1
Brad Richardson 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Louis Domingue .875 Save Percentage Steve Mason .800
Louis Domingue 28 Saves Steve Mason 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Arizona 25 5 0-3 6-8 31 26
Philadelphia 32 4 2-8 3-3 11 28
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Flyers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Arizona will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .200 after a loss.