Flyers top Canucks for 8th win in row
PHILADELPHIA — Carter Hart made 41 saves, Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek scored, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Monday night for their eighth straight victory.
The Flyers pulled within five points of a playoff spot after having the NHL’s worst record on Jan. 9 — they were 14 points out of a postseason berth during the All-Star break just over a week ago. Philadelphia also became the first NHL expansion club to reach 2,000 victories
Hart, Philadelphia’s 20-year-old rookie, won his seventh straight start with another solid game. His best stop came with 5 { minutes left when he dived with his right arm to deny Nikolay Goldobin from a sharp angle on a power play, drawing “CAR-TER! CAR-TER!” chants from the crowd.
Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver, which was playing the first of three games in four nights.
The game was delayed for several minutes midway through the third period after Vancouver’s Alexander Edler went down with a scary-looking injury. Edler’s skate got caught in Voracek’s stick, causing Edler to land face-first on the ice. With a bloodied face and dazed look, a conscious Edler was wheeled off on a stretcher while sitting upright.
Voracek scored on a breakaway 3:20 into the second period to put Philadelphia up 2-0.