…Vancouver heads in winless on a three-game game homestand

By Associated Press

Philadelphia Flyers (22-23-10, seventh in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Vancouver Canucks (21-30-4, sixth in the Pacific Division)

Vancouver, British Columbia; Saturday, 7 p.m. PST

BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Flyers visit the Vancouver Canucks, after Travis Konecny scored two goals in the Flyers’ 6-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, to complete the Canucks three-game homestand.

Vancouver Canucks dropped their first two games of the 3-game homestand, 6-1 to Detroit Red Wings on Monday and 6-4 to New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Vancouver has a 21-30-4 record overall and a 10-15-1 record on its home ice. The Canucks have a 21-9-4 record in games they score at least three goals.

Philadelphia is 22-23-10 overall and 11-10-7 in road games. The Flyers have gone 7-7-9 in one-goal games.

Saturday’s game is the second meeting between these teams this season. The Flyers won 3-2 in the last meeting. Konecny led the Flyers with two goals.

TOP PERFORMERS: Andrei Kuzmenko has scored 23 goals with 24 assists for the Canucks. Elias Pettersson has six goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.

Kevin Hayes has 17 goals and 30 assists for the Flyers. Ivan Provorov has one goal and five assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Canucks: 3-6-1, averaging 3.3 goals, six assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.7 penalty minutes while giving up 4.3 goals per game.

Flyers: 3-4-3, averaging 2.2 goals, four assists, four penalties and 10.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.

INJURIES: Canucks: Curtis Lazar: day to day (lower-body), Jack Studnicka: day to day (illness), William Lockwood: out (undisclosed), Thatcher Demko: day to day (lower-body), Oliver Ekman-Larsson: day to day (lower-body), Ilya Mikheyev: out for season (knee), Tanner Pearson: out for season (hand), Tucker Poolman: out (undisclosed).

Flyers: Tanner Laczynski: out (lower-body), Cam Atkinson: out for season (neck), Zack MacEwen: out (jaw), Ryan Ellis: out for season (pelvis), Sean Couturier: out (back).

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) dives on a shot on goal by Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson as Andrei Kuzmenko (96) moves in during the second period of hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Konecny’s late goal lifts Flyers over Canucks, 3-2

By KEVIN COONEY

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Travis Konecny scored with just over six minutes to play in the third period as the Philadelphia Flyers (2-0-0-0) rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks (0-2-0-0), 3-2 on Saturday.

Tony D’Angelo added a goal and an assist while Scott Laughton recorded a short-handed tally for Philadelphia, who has opened the John Tortorella era with back-to-back home wins. Carter Hart stopped 28 shots in the win

Kyle Burroughs and Conor Garland scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko stopped 28 of 31 shots for Vancouver, who have lost the first two games of their five-game road trip to open the season.

Vancouver was 0 for 5 on the powerplay and 3 for 4 shorthanded. Canucks are 1 for 13 with the man advantage to begin the season, while they are 4 for 8 shorthanded.

Canucks for the first time in their history allowed shorthanded goals in consecutive games to begin a season, against Edmonton on Wednesday and the Flyers today.

Konecny – who has three goals on the young season- 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.

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 Dembo 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.

Vancouver Canucks left wing Nils Hoglander (21) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim (6) fight during the second period of NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

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.

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.

Source: Associated Press