PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Travis Konecny scored with just over six minutes to play in the third period as the Philadelphia Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Saturday.
Tony D'Angelo added a goal and an assist while Scott Laughton recorded a short-handed tally for Philadelphia (2-0-0), who has opened the John Tortorella era with back-to-back home wins. Carter Hart stopped 27 shots in the win.
“We didn't panic," Tortorella said. “I think to go through that the second game of the year and to succeed, it is something we can lean on if we get in that situation again.”
Kyle Burroughs and Conor Garland scored for the Canucks, who have lost the first two games of their five-game road trip to open the season.
“We were 0-for-5 on the power play and they were 1-for-5 on the power play and they score and they scored a shorthanded goal,” Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “That's the difference in the game. If we don't sure that up, we're going to be in trouble.”
Konecny - who has three goals on the young season and added an assist on Laughton's shorthanded goal Saturday - scooped up a deflected shot just outside the crease and slid the puck past Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko with 6:07 left to break the 2-2 tie.
“We put our heads down and keep working, you are going to get your chances” Konecny said.
It was the capstone moment to Philadelphia's comeback. DeAngelo had brought the Flyers back within 2-1 with a power-play goal midway through the second while Laughton converted on a shorthanded breakaway that beat Demko just inside the post.
Burroughs scored just 1:34 into the game when a wrist shot ticked off a Philadelphia defensemen and over Hart's shoulder for his first goal of the season. Vancouver extended the lead to 2-0 late in the first period when Garland's wrister from the top of the circle whistled past Hart and into the top corner on the stick side.
SPLIT SCREEN WORLD
With the attention of most Philadelphia sports fans directed at Citizens Bank Park and the Phillies taking on the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, the Flyers decided to split the video screen above center ice into two to show the top of the ninth inning of Philadelphia’s 8-3 series-clinching victory while the hockey action was going on.
After Seranthony Dominguez struck out Travis d’Arnaud for the final out during a faceoff stoppage, Flyers fans exploded in celebration while the arena loudspeakers played “Dancing On My Own”, the Tiesto mix song that has become the baseball team’s playoff anthem.
“I thought it was great," Tortorella said. “It makes me want to get the hockey team out here in those situations. We were looking at them celebrating between periods and that's what we play for. Just those few moments that you can do some of that (stuff) where they win and can act like idiots and have a blast. That's what we play for.”
TRAINERS ROOM
Flyers: Placed forward Owen Tippett on injured reserve with an undisclosed upper body injury. To take Tippett's spot on the roster, Philadelphia called up forward Ollie Lycksell from its American Hockey League affiliate in Lehigh Valley.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Continue their five game series-opening road trip with a game Monday in Washington.
Flyers; Start a three-game southern road trip on Tuesday night at Tampa Bay.
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