PHILADELPHIA – Sean Couturier apparently wanted to make the first goal of the game he scored for his 500th NHL point a little extra special.
So he added a second goal, this one at 8:26 of the third period to give the Flyers a 5-4 lead.
Then after the Minnesota Wild scored on a shot by Jacob Middleton with 6:32 to play to tie the score again at 5-5, it was time for more heroics from No. 14.
So Couturier went back to work and set up Rasmus Ristolainen’s close-range go-ahead goal with 2:24 to play and the Flyers went on to a 7-5 win on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center, ending the Flyers’ six-game (0-5-1) winless streak.
Couturier scored into an empty net with one minute to play for a rather amazing hat trick. Dozens of hats littered the ice in the time-honored tradition.
The victory snapped that long drought dating back to the opening night of the season at Vancouver.
After the game, Couturier looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. These were his first three goals of the season. He finished the game with a co-team-high five points and also a plus-5.
And to think just a week or so ago he was playing left wing on the fourth line. Now he’s back to centering a first line with Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov.
This was a big game for the Flyers but just as impactful for Couturier.
The first two Couturier goals were scored from close range. This is how the veteran center has to play offense, getting in tight to the net.
“Especially when you’re struggling for offense,” he said. “That’s where you usually find the back of the net. Whether it’s a lucky bounce off you or second, third chances, especially with TK and ‘Mich.’ Kind of know my job, control the center of the ice, create some space and go to the net.”
Just because he hadn’t scored until Saturday doesn’t mean Couturier wasn’t playing well.
“I thought I had some chances lately,” he said. “The puck just wasn’t going in. You have those nights sometimes where everything goes in, the puck finds you. When the puck just bounces to you, you have to take advantage of those.”
Konecny, who also had a five-point game (a goal and four assists) and Couturier go back a long way. Finding chemistry with Michkov will be a challenge but ultimately will pay dividends.
“Me and ‘Coots’ have played together for awhile,” Konecny said. “With Mich, we’re just trying to figure out how to play off one another.”
Coach John Tortorella confirmed that putting Couturier back on center after a stint at left wing was probably a good move.
“I put him back at center where I think he’s played well the last few games,” the coach said. “I’ve been looking for centers for two or three years. What Sean has done after coming to the middle, I hope it continues. That’s a constant theme of mine.”
Despite taking an early 2-0 lead and later a 3-2 edge against visiting Minnesota on Saturday afternoon, the Flyers couldn’t stand prosperity. They needed a third period comeback and got that when Konecny scored at 4:55 of the third period to forge a 4-4 tie.
The two teams were tied, 3-3, after two periods. Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno scored the second of two goals at 2:18 of the third period but Konecny came back to score a power-play goal when he cleaned up a Morgan Frost miss off the end boards.
After Minnesota scored twice in a span of 33 seconds late in the second period to tie the score 2-2, Michkov registered his fourth goal of the season on a delayed penalty call against Minnesota with 1:44 to play in the frame.
But of course the Flyers couldn’t stand prosperity.
They took a careless too-many-men on the ice penalty and the Wild scored with 3.2 seconds remaining on the clock. Joel Eriksson Ek scored from close range and the score was knotted again at 3-3.
The first Minnesota goals were scored by defenseman Brock Faber at 14:54 and Marcus Foligno at 15:27. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson didn’t have much of a chance on either one.
For just the third time in eight games this season, the Flyers held a lead after the first period.
That edge came about by way of early goals from Couturier and Nick Seeler.
Couturier connected for his first goal of the season just 1:18 from the start. He finished off the rebound of Rasmus Ristolainen’s point shot, poking the puck past goalie Filip Gustavsson.
The crowd gave an extra loud ovation when Couturier’s milestone was announced.
Seeler made it 2-0 at 3:51. The defenseman took Konecny’s pass from the right board in stride and hit the net from the top of the slot.
When the game was over, there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief around the locker room.
“It’s good to get a win,” Couturier said. “But we can’t be satisfied, it’s only one win. It’s been a tough start to the year so we have some catch-up to do.”
>Short shots
Bobby Brink was a scratch for a second straight game. . .The Flyers get right back into action with a rare Sunday night home game against the Montreal Canadiens.
