Sean Couturier Scores Hat Trick on Career Night as Flyers Take Down Wild

The streak is finally over. After six straight losses, the Philadelphia Flyers took down the Minnesota Wild, giving them their first home win of the season and the Wild their first regulation loss of theirs. This felt much more like the team that scored three goals in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Capitals than the team that scored one goal in the previous eight periods. This looked like a changed team, and it was a change the fans would like to see continue throughout the season.

Even before the game started there was a change in the Flyers roster. Rookie Jett Luchanko was returned to his junior team, the Guelph Storm (OHL) to continue his development. This move is not unexpected and should not concern fans, as this gives the 18-year-old the opportunity to better hone his skills before returning to the club at some point in the future.

What should concern fans, however, is the loss of Cam York. York will miss at least two weeks with an upper-body injury sustained in the Flyers’ previous game against the Capitals. The young defenseman has been a key figure in the Flyers’ rebuild and the defense will certainly feel his absence, as he has spent the entire year as a top-line player.

Once the puck dropped, it didn’t take long for the Flyers to surpass their scoring total at Wells Fargo Center. After only scoring one goal in the previous two home games, the Flyers scored two in the first four minutes of this game. Sean Couturier netted the first while Nick Seeler got the second; both of them the first goals of the year for each player and both were assisted by Travis Konecny.

Couturier’s goal also marked a career milestone for the Flyer’s captain. This was the 500th point in Couturier’s 13-year career, all of which have come with Philadelphia.

The good vibes would only last for the period though, as the Wild would outscore the Flyers 3-1 to tie the game up at 3-3. The lone Flyers goal was from Matvei Michkov, making it the first home goal of his NHL career as well as his team-leading fourth overall.

It seemed as though Philly’s less-than-stellar goaltending would cost the team again when Marcus Foligno gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead early in the third period, but the Flyers offense had other plans. Konecny’s power-play goal and Couturier’s second score of the game put the Flyers back on top 5-4.

Poor goaltending once again came back to bite Philly though, when a soft Jake Middleton wrister snuck by Samuel Ersson, who was unable to see around a Wild screen, but once again this Flyers offense simply wouldn’t be denied.

Rasmus Ristolainen found the back of the net after a quick rebound of a shot from Couturier, giving the Flyers a lead they would not relinquish. The game would be put away by who else but Sean Couturier, who scored an empty netter, marking the first hat trick of the Flyer’s season and the first five-point game of his career.

The development of what could very well be Philly’s official top offensive line moving forward was a major positive in this game. Konecny, Couturier, and Michkov combined for 12 points in this game. At least one of them was involved in all five of the Flyers’ goals. This combination of the team’s current best player, the veteran captain, and the talented rookie has the potential to be a true goal-scoring force moving forward

The Flyers will play again tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 pm EST. The game can be watched on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Bo Lynett

Bo has been a fan of Philly sports his whole life and has spent the entirety of his four years at Colgate University working to start a career in sports media. Double majoring in Economics and Film & Media Studies gave him the opportunity to study both the financial/ analytical and broadcasting/ production sides of the sports world. Outside of the classroom, he’s worked as a director and producer for Colgate’s athletic events streamed on ESPN+ and a writer for the Colgate Athletic Website. Through all of this, however, it was his love of Philly sports that drove him to this career.