National Hockey League
Philadelphia 5, Winnipeg 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 17, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Frederic L'Ecuyer
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Trent Knorr
Attendance: 19432

PHILADELPHIA -- One day after blaming himself for costing the Philadelphia Flyers a point in a shootout loss to Ottawa, goaltender Steve Mason helped earn his team two points Thursday night in a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Mason turned aside 30 of 32 shots and received goal support from Sean Couturier, Michael Raffl, Mark Streit, Brandon Manning and Wayne Simmonds to help give the Flyers (8-7-3) their second win in three games (2-0-1).

"I'm not getting too far ahead of myself," said Mason, who improved to 4-5-3. "I'm just taking it day-by-day and trying to play quality hockey here for a consistent stretch."

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, on the other hand, struggled all night, allowing goals on the Flyers' first two shots and stopping just 17 of 21 shots to suffer his first loss since Nov. 6. The defeat snapped a 4-0-1 run for the Jets, who continue their season-long five-game, nine-day road trip Saturday in Boston.

"You can't feel good every night," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "You've got to stay in that fight. We hadn't given them that much and that second one was a hell of a shot. I'm not going to blame my 'tender for that one."

Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien netted his first goal of the season and right winger Blake Wheeler added his sixth in the loss.

"We left a lot of offense on the table," Maurice said. "But you have to give them some credit for that, too. I think their guy (Mason) battled in his net hard. They deserved to win the game based on compete level."

Mason was tested early and often and his two most timely saves came on consecutive rushes by the Jets about five minutes into the third period with the Flyers clinging to a one-goal lead.

Simmonds put the Jets away less than a minute later when he netted his team-high ninth goal of the season to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead at the 5:46 mark and Manning made it official when he scored into an empty net with 48.1 seconds remaining.

It marked just the fourth time in 18 games the Flyers allowed an opponent under three goals.

"We needed to finish off the third period without kind of collapsing like we have done in previous games," Mason said. "Points are too hard to get and that was a hard-working game from start to finish."

The Flyers improved their shooting percentage while wreaking havoc on Hellebuyck's save percentage in the first period. It took the Flyers 9:13 to record their first shot on goal, but it found the back of the net. So did their second attempt 34 seconds later.

Couturier opened the scoring when he fired a shot over Hellebuyck's blocker from 10 feet away for his fifth goal of the season. Mark Scheifele lost the puck at the side of the net and argued that he had been pulled down by Jakub Voracek on the play, to no avail. Couturier had scored one goal in his previous 14 games.

"They got away with a trip there," Maurice said.

Less than a minute later, the Flyers were celebrating again. Right winger Matt Read made a diving pass just ahead of Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey to get the puck over to Raffl for his third goal of the season on the Flyers' second shot.

"That's just an extra-effort play," Hakstol said of Read. "We've seen a lot of that from Reader. Does that give your bench a little shot in the arm? Absolutely."

Frustrated by the stellar goaltending of Mason, the Jets broke through in the second period, twice drawing within one goal on goals by Byfuglien and Wheeler.

Byfugien, looking for his first goal since April 7, found himself all alone at the side of the net and hammered a pass from center Nic Petan for his first goal of the season at the 6:57 mark. Marko Dano started the play by losing his stick but kicking the puck to Petan for the unconventional second assist.

"He was playing through an injury for a while and he's back healthy now," Maurice said. "The bounces have not been favorable for him."

The Flyers restored their two-goal lead six minutes later when Streit teed up a shot from the blue line that ticked off the catching glove of Hellebuyck and into the net for his fourth goal.

The Jets kept buzzing and made it 3-2 on Wheeler's sixth goal of the season at the 17:19 mark. Wheeler finished off a nice passing play by Ehlers and Scheifele for his third goal in five games.

NOTES: Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere, who finished second in NHL Rookie of the Year voting last season, was a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career. "You can't make too much out of it," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "It's not a small thing to have Shayne out of our lineup, yet I think it's a good thing for him, in his growth, in his development, and in a few things that we're asking him to concentrate on." D Andrew MacDonald, who missed the previous six games with a lower body injury, took Gostisbehere's spot in the lineup and D Mark Streit took his spot on the power play. ... LW Roman Lyubimov and D Nick Schulz were the Flyers' other healthy scratches. The Flyers conclude their four-game homestand Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning. ... Jets RW Drew Stafford (upper body injury) sat out his 13th straight game but head coach Paul Maurice said he's cleared for contact and could be in the lineup when the Jets continue their season-long five-game road trip Saturday in Boston or Sunday in Carolina. ... C Chase De Leo and D Mark Stuart were healthy scratches for the Jets. ... Winnipeg placed LW Axel Blomqvist on waivers on Thursday. Assuming he clears he will return to Sweden to play.
Top Game Performances
 
Winnipeg   Philadelphia
Dustin Byfuglien 1 Points Radko Gudas 2
Dustin Byfuglien 1 Goals Sean Couturier 1
Marko Dano 1 Assists Radko Gudas 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Connor Hellebuyck .810 Save Percentage Steve Mason .938
Connor Hellebuyck 17 Saves Steve Mason 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Winnipeg 32 2 0-1 1-1 2 24
Philadelphia 22 5 0-1 1-1 2 30
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Flyers have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .545 after a loss.
  • Winnipeg will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Jets have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .600 after a loss.