Konecny, Flyers cruise past Coyotes for 3rd straight victory

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Travis Konecny scored twice for the Philadelphia Flyers, who ended the Arizona Coyotes’ five-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

Carter Hart made 25 saves, and Cam York had a goal and an assist for the Flyers (14-10-2), who won their third straight game and are 9-3-1 in their past 13.

“I didn't think it was that fast [a game] by either team, I didn't think there were a lot of great plays by either team. It was just one of those games that you’ve got to figure out how to win,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. “And we did that. … It was a slugfest back and forth, and Carter made some key saves at key times.”

Lawson Crouse scored, and Connor Ingram made 22 saves for Arizona (13-10-2), which defeated the past five Stanley Cup champions during its winning streak.

“We didn't start the game with enough urgency. We gave them free looks, they score, and then they’re a tough team to play against,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “It took us too long for us to adjust. … Too long to react.”

Konecny gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 10:11 of the first period with a wrist shot from the left circle immediately after Sean Couturier’s face-off win.

“He [Konecny] is a really good player. He’s got a great engine,” Tortorella said. “… I don’t like some of the things [he does defensively], but I need to let him be who he is. Because that's why he's such a great player.”

Joel Farabee made it 2-0 at 13:18 with his first goal in seven games, putting in Cam Atkinson’s cross-crease pass at the left post.

Crouse cut it to 2-1 at 17:33, three seconds after a Coyotes power play ended. Jason Zucker carried the puck beyond the goal line and dropped it off to Matias Maccelli, who found Crouse alone in the slot.

“Kudos to them. They played hard defensively, we didn't really have much,” Arizona defenseman Travis Dermott said. “It was just a learning experience for us. We’re going to be playing hard games like that, hopefully, down the stretch, and we’re going to have to learn to stick in games that we're not creating much offense.”

Konecny’s short-handed breakaway goal made it 3-1 at 4:38 of the second period. Nick Seeler stole Nick Schmaltz’s entry pass and fed it ahead to Konecny, who outskated Matt Dumba and beat Ingram over his glove with a wrist shot.

“He [Konecny] is intense, aggressive, fast, explosive,” Couturier said. “So when he sees a loose puck, he's most likely winning that race, and it's fun to play with a guy like that. He’s going to win you a lot of races.”

Konecny has scored three of the Flyers’ seven short-handed goals, which lead the NHL.

“It was an important goal. It's just been that way this year. I think the aggression of the PK, of them all moving together, has given us some great momentum in the games,” Tortorella said.

York scored at 1:47 of the third for the 4-1 final, cutting around Zucker at the top of the left circle before scoring on a wrist shot.

“[Coming here] can be kind of be a trap game sometimes,” York said. “But I thought we managed it well. We’re playing some really good hockey right now and just wanted to [keep it going].”

NOTES: Philadelphia is 8-4-1 on the road with three straight wins. … The Coyotes were trying for their first 5-0 homestand since March 3-12, 2002. Their last six-game winning streak was Feb. 19-March 2, 2019. … Flyers forward Ryan Poehling (illness) was a late scratch. He was replaced by Olle Lycksell, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. … Dermott played 13:33 in his return after being out since Nov. 7 (upper-body injury). ... Defenseman Sean Durzi (lower-body injury) missed the game after he was injured against the Washington Capitals on Monday. … Ingram (11-4-0) made his sixth straight start, having won each of the first five. … Coyotes forward Michael Carcone’s four-game goal streak ended. ... Arizona rookie forward Logan Cooley was minus-4 in 18:02.