Flyers push win streak to 8 games on back of Schenn hat trick
PHILADELPHIA - Brayden Schenn scored three power-play goals to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to their eighth straight victory, a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Jakub Voracek scored an empty-netter and also had three assists for the Flyers, who matched Montreal for the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.
Philadelphia last won eight straight games from Jan. 6-19, 2002.
Devin Shore had both goals for the Stars.
Tied at 1 entering the third period, Dallas went ahead when Shore scored his second goal of the game with 9:28 left.
But Schenn tied the game with his second goal of the game that was similar to the first one, a deflection from in front after Voracek's shot from the right side at 16:12.
Schenn then put Philadelphia in front with 2:15 left when he scored with a forehand shot on a rebound of Voracek's shot for his seventh goal of the season, resulting in hats flying on the ice.
Steve Mason made 21 saves for his seventh straight win.
Kari Lehtonen made 18 saves for the Stars, falling to 1-11-3 against Philadelphia.
Voracek had four points, tying his career high, for the second straight game and has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) during Philadelphia's winning streak.
Shore gave Dallas a 2-1 lead with 9 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, scoring just as the Stars' power play expired. Antoine Roussel sent the puck toward the net. Shore corralled the rebound at the far post. A sprawling Mason used his stick to stop Shore's first attempt, but Shore batted in the loose puck just before Mason could cover it.
Radek Faksa almost gave Dallas a two-goal advantage with 4:41 left, but his short-handed attempt on a 2-on-1 break caromed off the post.
That play loomed large as Schenn tied it 53 seconds later.
Lehtonen kept it tied 6 1/2 minutes earlier with the save of the game, fully extending his glove to snare Ivan Provorov's drive from the slot. Provorov began to celebrate when it looked as if the puck was headed in the goal.
Lehtonen's Stars teammates loudly tapped their sticks against the boards after the save.
Schenn tied the game at 1 with a power-play goal with 2:42 left in the first period. Schenn scored his fifth of the season on a deflection off Voracek's wrist shot from the side boards. Wayne Simmonds provided the screen of Lehtonen, as the puck went through Simmonds' legs and past Lehtonen.
Shore gave Dallas a 1-0 lead 7:30 into the game with a backhand that went high over Mason's left shoulder. The goal culminated hard work in the offensive zone by the Stars and a poor job of the Philadelphia defense clearing the puck from its goal line. Curtis McKenzie and Adam Cracknell picked up assists on the play.
The teams played an even second period that mostly was defensive in nature. Mason turned aside the Stars' best two chances, Roussel's wrist shot on a rush from close range and Tyler Seguin's wrist shot from the high slot.
Dallas coach Lindy Ruff stuck with a top line of Jamie Benn, Seguin and center Jason Spezza. In Thursday's 5-2 win over Nashville, the trio played together for the first time and combined for eight points. The line didn't register a point against Philadelphia.
NOTES: The Flyers held a moment of silence in the pregame for former scout and coach Bill Dineen, who died Saturday at 84. ... The teams will wrap up their two-game season series next Saturday in Dallas. ... Schenn and Stephen Johns fought to a draw in the second period though Schenn received a cut on his forehead.
UP NEXT
Stars: At Blackhawks on Sunday night.
Flyers: At Red Wings on Sunday night.