Philly Leader

The Philadelphia Flyers ended a five-game winless streak with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening. Travis Konecny contributed a goal and an assist, while Samuel Ersson made 31 saves to secure the win.

The Flyers will enter the leaguewide break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament with a record of 24-26-7, while the Penguins stand at 23-25-9.

Pittsburgh dominated early in the game, generating four of the first five shots on goal within the opening ten minutes. However, it was Scott Laughton who scored first for Philadelphia at just 1:42 into the first period. Andrei Kuzmenko assisted by moving the puck to Konecny, who set up Laughton for his eleventh goal of the season.

A high stick from Blake Lizotte on Matvei Michkov went unpenalized later in the period. The Flyers faced pressure but held their ground until Anthony Beauvillier initiated a flurry near Ersson's net. By period's end, Pittsburgh had outshot Philadelphia 10-2.

In the second period, Erik Karlsson tied it up for Pittsburgh with a shot that beat Ersson short-side at 4:19. Garnet Hathaway restored Philadelphia's lead with an unassisted goal after a misplay by Pittsburgh's goalie Blomqvist at 12:26.

The third period saw Tortorella adjust line combinations as Noel Acciari hit the post early on. Konecny then extended Philadelphia's lead during a delayed penalty against Pittsburgh with help from Cam York and Travis Sanheim at 4:27.

Controversy arose when Kevin Hayes' effort was initially ruled goaltender interference but later reversed upon review, cutting Philadelphia's lead to one again at 5:42. Despite late efforts by Pittsburgh, Ersson stood firm in goal and secured victory for Philadelphia by stopping 31 of 33 shots faced.