Logan Cooley breaks tie on power play, helps Utah beat the Flyers 4-2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Logan Cooley broke a tie on power play late in the second period and had an assist to help Utah beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Sunday night.
Cooley took a no-look pass from Dylan Guenther and made a slick forehand-to-backhand move in front of the net to beat goalie Sam Ersson.
Cooley also assisted on Juuso Valimaki’s first goal of the season. Valimaki’s shot hit Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier’s stick and went past Ersson.
Jaxson Stauber stopped 20 shots for Utah. Ersson made 21 saves in his first start after missing a month because of a lower-body injury.
Philadelphia has lost three straight.
Michael Carcone opened the scoring for Utah when Ersson made a save on his shot, but the rebound bounced off Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s skate and slid into the net.
Kevin Stenlund added an unassisted short-handed goal with 4:17 to play to give Utah an insurance marker.
Joel Farabee snapped a 12-game goal drought and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia.
Takeaways
Utah: Goaltending has been good despite starter Connor Ingram being sidelined with an upper-body injury since Nov. 18. Stauber made his second start of the season, following up as shutout against Vegas last week.
Flyers: Defenseman Jaime Drysdale returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury.
Key moment
Drysdale thought he scored the tying goal in the third period, but a challenge by Utah coach Andre Tourigny was successful. Replays showed Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny collided with Stauber in the crease, interfering with his ability to make a save.
Key stat
Plus-14 — Utah’s goal differential since Nov. 23, the best in the NHL in that span. Utah is 5-2-1 in that span.
Up next
Both teams are back in action Tuesday night, with Utah hosting Minnesota, and Philadelphia at Columbus.
___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
By ANTHONY SANFILIPPO
Associated Press
