Brink scores 1st 2 NHL goals for Flyers in win against Wild

PHILADELPHIA -- Bobby Brink scored his first two NHL goals for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 6-2 win against the Minnesota Wild at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.

Travis Sanheim had a goal and two assists for Philadelphia (4-2-1), which won its third straight home game. Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny each had a goal and an assist, Cam Atkinson had three assists, and Carter Hart made 26 saves.

Brink, who was born in Minnetonka, Minnesota, was playing his 16th NHL game.

"Growing up watching the Wild and scoring your first goal [against them], it's pretty cool," he said.

Dakota Mermis and Marcus Foligno scored for Minnesota (3-3-1), which allowed at least four goals for the fourth straight game. Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves.

"We got what we deserved," Foligno said. "We didn't play a full 60 [minutes]."

Brink's first goal came on the power play at 9:52 of the first period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead. Couturier dug a loose puck out of the corner on the left side of the Wild zone and tried to pass back to the point, but the puck bounced off the skate of referee Chris Rooney and to Brink alone in front.

"It's nice to get a bounce there," Brink said. "Little luck and was able to put it home. Saw a little area five-hole. Nice to get lucky."

He tapped in a Joel Farabee centering pass for his second goal of the game at 11:02 of the third period to make it 5-2.

After playing 10 games for the Flyers late in the 2021-22 season, the forward had hip surgery that sidelined him for the first three months of last season, and when he recovered he spent the season with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.

"I've faced some adversity and I think that adversity just kind of makes it even more special," he said. "It's a pretty special moment. I've been thinking about it forever. A lot of years of hockey and a lot of stuff leading up to this moment, a lot of sacrifices from my parents and family and grandparents and aunts and uncles. It's just a really special moment for me and my whole family.

Loud chants of "Bobby, Bobby" could be heard coming out of the Flyers locker room after the game.

"He's been buzzing lately," Couturier said. "He's getting a lot of looks, a lot of chances. Sometimes that's all it takes, just one, and then you saw you know the rest of the game he created a lot of chances and got a second one."

Konecny put the Flyers ahead 1-0 at 13:57 of the first period with a shot from the top of the left face-off circle.

Couturier scored on the rebound of an Atkinson shot for a power-play goal at 7:28 of the second period to make it 2-0.

After Brink put Philadelphia ahead by three, Minnesota made it a one-goal game early in the third period. Mermis scored from the slot to make it 3-1 at 3:05, and Foligno made it 3-2 with a goal from the crease at 4:30.

But the Flyers went ahead 4-2 when Owen Tippett scored on a breakaway at 6:34. Atkinson knocked the puck away from Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov and sent Tippett in alone.

"We thought we were coming," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "That's a big goal clearly. We should have gotten the puck down deep and drove it down. That's how we've been scoring goals and we didn't. That hurt us. I think we got a ton of momentum at that point and that hurt us a lot."

After Brink's second goal, Sanheim scored from the high slot at 14:46 for the 6-2 final.

NOTES: Sanheim has seven points (one goal, six assists) during a four-game point streak. He also played a game-high 27:37. ... Minnesota allowed four goals for the fourth straight game. ... The Flyers killed off two Wild power plays; they are 13-for-13 on the penalty kill with four short-handed goals in their past five games. ... Philadelphia went 2-for-3 on the power play after going 1-for-20 in its first six games. ... Wild forward Mats Zuccarello’s six-game point streak (two goals, seven assists) ended. … Marcus Johansson had an assist on Foligno's goal to give him five points (one goal, four assists) during a four-game point streak ... Flyers defenseman Louie Belpedio had two blocked shots in 15:26 of ice time in his first NHL game since Feb. 16, 2021. He had been called up from the AHL earlier Thursday. ... Wild forward Jujhar Khaira had one shot on goal in 8:05 of ice time in his season debut.