The Philadelphia Flyers hit the road to face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, wrapping up a back-to-back with a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory. With Dan Vladar between the pipes, the Flyers made some lineup changes, bringing in Garnet Hathaway and Emil Andrae while Luke Glendening and Noah Juulsen sat out. This win bumps the Flyers to a 31-23-11 record for the season.
The Wild got the first power play at the 8-minute mark of the opening period when Matvei Michkov was penalized for slashing. Vladar stood tall, making a crucial save on Joel Eriksson Ek, while the Wild moved the puck well but couldn’t find the net.
The Flyers had their first power play opportunity at 10:52 in the first, with Marcus Johansson off for hooking. Jesper Wallstedt, the Wild’s goaltender, stopped an early attempt from Owen Tippett. Despite some missed chances from Michkov and Christian Dvorak, the Wild effectively killed the penalty by clearing the puck.
Emil Andrae put the Flyers on the board late in the first, scoring at 18:35. After taking a pass from Trevor Zegras, Andrae slipped a wrist shot through Wallstedt’s legs, with Zegras earning the assist.
In the second period, Nick Seeler’s slashing penalty at 8:14 gave the Wild another power play. They capitalized with Matt Boldy tying the game, redirecting a Mats Zuccarello pass before wristing it past Vladar. Zuccarello and Quinn Hughes assisted on the play.
The Wild took a 2-1 lead later in the second, thanks to Kirill Kaprizov. He found the net with a wrist shot over Vladar’s blocker, assisted by Brock Faber and Hughes.
Early in the third, the Flyers had another power play opportunity when Robby Fabbri was called for tripping. Despite struggling to set up, the Wild’s solid defense kept them at bay.
Travis Konecny’s interference penalty at 6:08 in the third gave the Wild their third power play, but Vladar’s key saves on Hughes and Vladimir Tarasenko kept the Flyers in it. Owen Tippett then scored a shorthanded goal, tying the game at two with a slapshot from just inside the blue line, assisted by Carl Grundstrom and Travis Sanheim.
The Wild’s too-many-men penalty at 19:08 in the third gave the Flyers another power play, which carried into overtime. Despite several attempts, Wallstedt and the Wild defense held firm.
In the shootout, the Flyers’ Konecny was the hero, netting the only goal after attempts from both teams. With that, the Flyers secured the win.
Vladar’s performance was solid, saving 21 of 23 shots for a .913 save percentage. The Flyers went 0-for-4 on power plays but successfully killed two of the Wild’s three opportunities.
Next up, the Flyers return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, March 14.