ST. LOUIS — The Philadelphia Flyers ended their 13-game road skid with a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Thursday.
Hayden Hodgson had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut, Travis Konecny scored twice, and Martin Jones made 26 saves for the Flyers (21-32-11), who were 0-11-2 since their last road win Dec. 29, 3-2 in overtime at the Seattle Kraken.
“I’ll say we were due, that’s for sure,” Philadelphia coach Mike Yeo said. “But you know, especially considering we played a lot of really good road games, we just haven’t always gotten wins. Even looking at Detroit [Tuesday, a 6-3 loss to the Red Wings], there were a number of times we had Grade-A opportunities and great, great chances to tie up the game, but we haven’t been able to deliver and get the job done. But tonight, obviously, happy for the guys.”
Blues forward David Perron had his seven-game goal streak end but extended his point streak to eight games (10 goals, four assists) with an assist.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexei Toropchenko scored, and Jordan Binnington made 22 saves for the Blues (35-19-9), who have lost eight of 11 games in March (3-5-3).
“I think we just didn’t play our game at all,” St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk said. “The work ethic wasn’t there, the compete level and intensity wasn’t there from a lot of guys [and] I’m very much in that group. Didn’t have a good game by any means. But that’s just not acceptable. We’ve kind of had that.
“It’s been a little bit of a theme, starting slow and thinking we can score our way through in the second and third [periods] and finding ourselves back in games and then win. Sure, certainly at times that’s going to happen. To think that that’s going to continually happen and think you’re going to be at the right side of things more times than not, it’s not true. Every team in this league, whether it’s the Flyers, who are out of the playoffs or a Colorado [Avalanche], guys are going to play hard and make it tough on you and we got what we deserved tonight.”
Konecny gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 6:37 of the first period, a shot from the left dot over Binnington’s glove hand.
Patrick Brown made it 2-0 at 14:51, following up a rebound in the slot of Cam York‘s shot.
Philadelphia outshot the Blues 9-4 in the first.
“Well, at the start of the game we didn’t shoot, that’s for sure,” St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. “We had some real good opportunities early and just passed them up. And then, you know, what I saw was just a team that skated and outworked us in the first period, that’s the easiest way to put it.
“… You can’t just give teams a 2-0 lead. We’re not starting a game that way.”
Tarasenko’s power-play goal at 1:47 of the second period cut it to 2-1, a wrist shot from the slot all alone in front of Jones.
Konecny extended the lead to 3-1 at 12:04 after a Pavel Buchnevich giveaway in the offensive zone led to a Flyers transition. Konecny’s one-timer from the right circle trickled past Binnington and he knocked it in as he was falling backwards on the ice.
Toropchenko’s second NHL goal at 16:00 made it 3-2, a wrist shot from the right circle after a pass from behind the goal line by Logan Brown.
Hodgson pushed the lead to 4-2 at 11:34 of the third period, knocking in a rebound after Kevin Hayes made a backhand power move to the net. Hodgson scored in the presence of his parents.
“Yesterday, when I found out, you know ‘Philly’ was so awesome with getting them down and flying them down,” Hodgson said. “I think they got in around two o’clock today, so they were here and it’s so special to share that moment with them.
“I just try to play a simple game and make my presence known and just be physical and just be good defensively.”
Joel Farabee scored into an empty net at 17:20 for the 5-2 final.
“We just wanted to have a good start and not worry about what was on the other side,” Flyers forward Owen Tippett said. “We just want to play our game and I think we did that. I think we came out strong and it’s a tough building to come into, so I think we played a full 60.”
NOTES: Hodgson signed a contract Tuesday for the rest of the season and was recalled under emergency conditions from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. … Defenseman Kevin Connauton had an assist, his first point for the Flyers in 16 games. He was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers on Dec. 7. … Tippett had an assist, his first point in his third game since he was acquired from the Panthers on Saturday as part of the Claude Giroux trade. … Hayes had two assists and has scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the past 10 games. … Konecny has scored six points (two goals, four assists) in the past three games. … With an assist, St. Louis center Ryan O’Reilly has scored 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 21 games against the Flyers. … Tarasenko was minus-3 with four shots in 15:28 after missing two games with a non-COVID-19 illness. … The Flyers play at the Avalanche on Friday.
