Giroux Earns 500th Career Point, Flyers Top Coyotes 4-2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Claude Giroux scored one of Philadelphia's three first-period goals for his 500th career point and Mark Streit had three assists to lead the Flyers to a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
Scott Laughton, Sam Gagner and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also scored for the Flyers, who have won both games so far of a six-game homestand that likely will determine their playoff fate. Philadelphia began the day behind three teams and three points back of a playoff spot.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brad Richardson scored for the Coyotes, who tied a season high with their fifth straight loss. Arizona also has dropped seven in a row on the road and 11 of the last 14 overall.
The teams combined for four goals in the opening period.
Laughton got Philadelphia started midway through the period. Nick Cousins chipped the puck from the defensive zone high over two Arizona defenders into the waiting hands of a wide-open Laughton at the Coyotes blue line. Laughton dropped the puck and then finished the breakaway, beating Louis Domingue through the five-hole with a backhander.
Richardson tied with 6:29 remaining on a one-timer from close range after a cross-ice feed from Max Domi.
Giroux, who was back in the lineup after a three-game absence due to an upper body injury, notched his 17th of the season to reach his points milestone with 2:19 left on a wrist shot from the left circle that went over Domingue's right shoulder. The power-play goal made it 10 straight home games in which Philadelphia has scored on the man-advantage.
And Gagner, who spent last season with the Coyotes, hit a slap shot over Domingue's left shoulder from close range just 40 seconds later to make it 3-1.
Streit reached 400 career points with assists on all three first-period goals.
Ekman-Larsson netted his 19th goal of the season while upping his team-best points total to 48 when he took a backhanded feed from Mikkel Boedker and fired high over a sprawling Michal Neuvirth with 13:27 remaining.
The Coyotes' best chance to tie the game came with 8 1-2 minutes left when Martin Hanzal's redirection attempt from the slot went off the post.
Bellemare put the game away when he finished a 3-on-2 break by poking home a rebound with 2:45 to play.
Domingue made 29 saves while starting his 10th straight game. The rookie is 3-7 over that stretch.
Neuvirth, generally the Flyers' backup goalie, started his third straight game in place of a healthy Steve Mason. He improved to 15-7-4 while making 29 saves, though none were as spectacular as the save he made in the waning seconds of Thursday's 3-2 win over the Wild.
Brayden Schenn had a pair of assists for Philadelphia.
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