Read, Flyers Find Way to Win Against Wild

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

With the Flyers sitting as a huge longshot to make the playoffs, playing spoiler is the next best thing. The Flyers played the role well in Minnesota on Thursday night.

The Wild had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win, but a determined effort by the Flyers led to a 3-1 win, putting Minnesota's celebration on hold.

The Flyers trailed early in this one on a mistake by Steve Mason. A dump-in went in on the Flyers netminder, but hit off his stick and sat in the crease. Zach Parise was able to find it and score to give Minnesota the early lead.

The Flyers eventually found the equalizer late in the first. Brayden Schenn set up Sean Couturier for the goal, as Couturier made a nice move and beat Devan Dubnyk through the five-hole to tie the game.

Early in the second, the Flyers grabbed the lead on a fortunate bounce. Matt Read stayed with the play as the puck hopped around through Minnesota sticks and buried the chance for his 10th goal of the season. 

That one goal stood up for the rest of the second period and throughout the third. The Flyers outshot the Wild in the third, 9-4, to preserve the lead. They iced the game for good with an empty-net goal by Jake Voracek. Wayne Simmonds assisted on the goal for his 200th point as a Flyer.

Mason secured the win in goal by making 24 saves, marking his 100th win as a Flyer.

The Flyers are back on the ice on Saturday afternoon as they continue their road trip in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• MIN Zach Parise (17) (Eric Staal, G. Olofsson) 2:07
• PHI Sean Couturier (12) (Brayden Schenn, Dale Weise) 17:59

2nd Period

• PHI Matt Read (10) (Unassisted) 0:21

3rd Period

• PHI Jake Voracek (18) (Wayne Simmonds) 19:15

Game Statistics