PHILADELPHIA – Logan Cooley broke a tie on the 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 deft forehand-to-backhand move in front of the net to beat goalkeeper 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 with a lower-body injury.
Philadelphia has lost three straight.
Michael Carcone scored the first goal for Utah when Ersson parried his shot, but the rebound bounced off the skate of Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and slid into the net.
Kevin Stenlund added an unassisted shorthanded goal with 4:17 to play to give Utah a decisive lead.
Joel Farabee ended a 12-game goal drought and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia.
Utah: Goaltending has been good, although starter Connor Ingram has been sidelined since Nov. 18 with an upper-body injury. Stauber made his second start this season after pitching a shutout against Vegas last week.
Flyers: Defenseman Jaime Drysdale returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury.
Drysdale thought he had scored the game-winning 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 goal crease, affecting his ability to hold onto a ball.
Plus-14 – Utah’s goal difference since November 23rd, the best in the NHL during that period. Utah is 5-2-1 in that span.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday night: Utah hosts Minnesota and Philadelphia hosts Columbus.
—— AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
