Road weary Flyers beaten by the Stars
DALLAS - The Flyers, already tired from playing their second road game in as many nights, were even more worn down by their continual parade to the penalty box Friday night.
DALLAS - The Flyers, already tired from playing their second road game in as many nights, were even more worn down by their continual parade to the penalty box Friday night.
Not a recipe for success against the explosive and rested Dallas Stars.
Dallas didn't take advantage of its six power plays, but it controlled the game's tempo and defeated the Flyers, 3-1, at the American Airlines Center.
The Flyers, coming off a 4-2 victory in St. Louis, had their four-game road winning streak snapped.
Jamie Benn secured the victory with his 20th goal, scored into an empty net, with 52.4 seconds left.
Michal Neuvirth, making his second start in as many nights, was again superb.
"He gave us a chance to win the game," winger Matt Read said. "He's earned the ice time he's getting, so it's good to see that."
The Flyers didn't have many quality scoring chances and were outshot, 44-20.
One of their best opportunities came with about 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in regulation - just after their power play had expired. Winger Wayne Simmonds, as he was falling down, had an open net from out front, but his backhander went just wide.
Dallas got a bizarre goal to end Neuvirth's shutout and tie the game at 1 all with 5:54 left in the second period.
Mattias Janmark's dump-in from near the far boards caromed off the skate of Simmonds and into the net. Just 3:22 later, Antoine Roussel dug out a rebound and beat Neuvirth to put the Stars ahead, 2-1.
There was a mad scramble in front before Roussel emerged with the puck.
"The puck was under me, and we've got to be tougher in front of our net," Neuvirth said.
Roussel and the Flyers' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are the only France-raised players in the NHL.
Looking fatigued, the Flyers were outshot, 34-14, in the first two periods and spent an inordinate amount of time in the penalty box.
"We've got to do a better job of staying out of the box," captain Claude Giroux said.
Shayne Gostisbehere had given the Flyers a 1-0 lead, taking a feed from Giroux and one-timing a blast past Antti Niemi with 10:37 remaining in the second. Simmonds screened Niemi on the play.
It was Gostisbehere's fourth power-play goal, which at the time was tops among NHL rookies, even though the defenseman has played just 14 games.
But the Stars answered with two goals late in the period to take a 2-1 lead into the third. In the first two periods, Dallas was 0 for 6 on the power play - including one that carried into the third - while the Flyers were 1 for 1.
The Flyers were trying to slow down a Dallas team that entered the night leading the NHL in scoring, averaging 3.50 goals per game.
"They have a lot of elements there," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said before the game. "Dallas gets up and down the rink really well. They transition and create a lot off the rush."
They created plenty in the first period, outshooting the Flyers, 18-9, and dominating most of the stanza.
Only Neuvirth's brilliant goaltending kept the game scoreless after the opening 20 minutes.
Neuvirth made a key first-period stop on Valeri Nichushkin's one-timer off a two-on-one break. He also made glove saves on ticketed power-play drives by Jyrki Jokipakka and Tyler Seguin.
The Flyers, outshot by a 15-3 margin over the last 12 minutes of the first period, had a two-on-one opportunity early in the game, but Brayden Schenn, after taking a feed from Giroux, flubbed the shot and Niemi was able to make an easy save.
"The first two periods we spent a lot of energy killing penalties," Hakstol said. "I thought we showed a little bit of fatigue, but we also showed a lot of battle trying to generate, trying to tie it up once we did get down."
As for Neuvirth, Haktsol said he has "played extremely well," but that Steve Mason was still the team's No. 1 goalie.
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