Flyers top Stars, end eight-game losing streak

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers ended an eight-game losing streak with a 2-1 win against the Dallas Stars at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.

"Feels good to be back in the win column," forward Travis Konecny said. "And I think we definitely earned that one. Goalie Carter] Hart stood on his head for us and we played the right way the whole game. We deserved that."
***[WATCH: [All Stars vs. Flyers highlights]*
James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia (16-22-6), which was 0-6-2 in the previous eight games. Hart made 37 saves.
It was the Flyers first victory since a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Rangers on Dec. 23.
Jamie Benn scored, and Anton Khudobin made 20 saves for Dallas (23-18-4), which had won five of seven (5-1-1).
"I thought we skated well," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "Just weren't doing enough. Not enough players had an impact, either with the puck or without the puck."

Konecny gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 1:23 into the second period. Radko Gudas threw the puck at the net from the right point that Khudobin stopped. Van Riemsdyk got the rebound in the slot and backhanded a pass to Konecny, who tipped it over Khudobin's glove for his 11th goal.
Van Riemsdyk made it 2-0 at 8:51 during a delayed penalty against the Stars. Claude Giroux centered a pass to van Riemsdyk in front of the Stars net. The puck bounced off van Riemsdyk's stick, Khudobin's skate and the skate of Stars defenseman Esa Lindell before going across the goal line.
Van Riemsdyk started the game on the top line, along with Konecny and Giroux, after being dropped to the fourth line to start against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
Flyers coach Scott Gordon had met with van Riemsdyk prior to that game to go over what the forward could do better, and he was shifted to the top line during the game Tuesday.

"Our conversation, I thought there was more opportunities to get into better areas," Gordon said. "Thought he did an exceptional job of that tonight, and the goal aside I felt like he was around the puck more, had better use of his stick defending and being more aggressive in the right areas."
Van Riemsdyk said he appreciated the attention Gordon gave him.
"There should be dialogue between coaches and players, that's how you get growth," van Riemsdyk said. "I appreciate him taking some time to talk me through some things he wanted me to see and some different things we're trying to do. I think it makes it easier when you have that dialogue."
Benn scored from the slot to make it 2-1 with 2:51 remaining in the third. He felt opportunities were there to do more but he and his teammates failed to create enough traffic in front of the net.
"It's where you score all the goals in this league, unless you're [Alex] Ovechkin, or [Steven] Stamkos, or [Nikita] Kucherov," Benn said. "A lot of goals are scored right around the crease and we've got to start getting to those dirty areas more."

When the Stars did create traffic, Hart was there. His 37 saves were his most in eight NHL games, and his best was a sliding stop on a backdoor chance by defenseman John Klingberg with 6:18 left in the second period.
"After maybe my first couple games you settle in, and when it comes to those kind of situations you've just got to play," Hart said. "You do all the work in practice and all the video, but when it comes to the game that's part of your hockey sense and awareness. Just got to play."
Jakub Voracek scored for the Flyers with 1:03 remaining in the third but the call was overturned after Montgomery challenged for goaltender interference.

They said it

"I thought our intent was there, we just didn't get things done. One of those games where it's a winnable game on the road but we didn't do it." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery
"When you have a goalie in there that's making big stops and has that coolness to him, for whatever reason you definitely can feel that on the ice. You can feel a little bit of that. He's got ice in his veins. ... I'd be curious to see what his heart rate gets to because he seems so cool under pressure." -- Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk on goalie Carter Hart

Need to know

Stars forward Tyler Seguin extended his point streak to seven games. He has 11 points (six goals, five assists) during the streak. ... Dallas had its streak of six consecutive games with a power-play goal end. ... Giroux's assist was his 497th in the NHL. ... Konecny's goal gave him 99 points in the NHL. … Flyers forward Sean Couturier had an assist to give him 299 NHL points.

What's next:

Stars: Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; FS-SW, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Flyers:At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSG+, NBCSP, NHL.TV)