National Hockey League
Philadelphia 3, Chicago 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Jean Hebert
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Tony Sericolo
Attendance: 22113

By Tom Musick, The Sports Xchange

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas watched his wrist shot deflect off the stick of a Chicago Blackhawks player and skip into the back of the net for a go-ahead goal.

Beautiful? Not quite.

Effective? You bet.

"If you work hard, the bounces are going to go your way," Gudas said. "I thought we did a great job."

Gudas' goal proved to be the difference as the Flyers held on for a 3-2 win against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Philadelphia (34-23-12) increased its point streak to six consecutive games and improved to 8-1-1 in its past 10 contests.

Ryan White and Brayden Schenn also scored as Philadelphia won its first game at the United Center since Jan. 23, 2011. The Flyers showed no signs of sluggishness despite arriving at their hotel in Chicago around 2 a.m. Wednesday after playing a home game one night earlier.

"Our players have done it night after night, and again tonight," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. "A real good team effort. Every guy chipped in and contributed in one way or another. We did a lot of the little things right that you have to do to be able to win a game on a back-to-back."

Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews scored for the Blackhawks, who squandered a pair of leads. Chicago (41-24-6) dropped to 0-3-1 in its past four games.

"We've got to get back to playing our kind of hockey," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "We've got to generate more. We've got to create more traffic. (Coach Joel Quenneville) talks a lot about getting pucks to the net, getting bodies there, making it tough on their goaltender to see."

Instead, Philadelphia goaltender Michal Neuvirth had a clear view of the Blackhawks' shots for most of the night. Neuvirth turned aside 24 of 26 shots, including a late flurry after Chicago pulled its goaltender for an extra skater. One of Neuvirth's best saves came against Artemi Panarin, who blasted a one-timer from the left circle.

Neuvirth said he embraced the moment as the Blackhawks desperately tried to force overtime.

"I was relaxed and patient, and I was seeing the puck well," Neuvirth said. "You know, I was actually enjoying the last few minutes."

Chicago goaltender Scott Darling stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss.

A fortunate bounce allowed Philadelphia to grab a 3-2 lead midway through the third period. Gudas fired a shot from the right point. The puck deflected off of the stick of Blackhawks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and skipped high off the ice to surprise Darling.

Chicago opened the scoring on a short-handed goal by Hossa with 11:42 to go in the first period. Artem Anisimov fed a pass across center ice to Hossa, who sneaked behind Philadelphia's defense for a breakaway. Hossa buried a low shot for his 11th goal of the season and the 497th of his career.

The Blackhawks had a chance to take a two-goal lead during a lengthy five-on-three power play midway through the first period. Neuvirth turned aside slap shots by Seabrook and Panarin.

"We had a couple of good chances," Quenneville said.

The Flyers evened the score at 1-1 on a power-play goal by White with 1:12 left in the first period. White stood in front of the crease and redirected a one-timer from Andrew MacDonald.

Chicago regained a 2-1 lead on a wraparound goal by Toews with 15:02 remaining in the second period. Toews skated from behind the net to the right side of the crease. He lifted a sharp-angle shot underneath the crossbar to secure his seventh 25-goal campaign in nine NHL seasons.

Schenn scored during a two-on-one break with Claude Giroux to even the score at 2-2 with 6:58 to go in the second period. Giroux stopped, spun and zipped a pass to Schenn to set up the one-timer.

"I don't know if I expect anything less from him," Schenn said with a grin. "That's the way he sees the ice. He made that spin-o-rama back pass to me, and I was able to put it in."

NOTES: Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville moved RW Patrick Kane to the team's top line alongside C Jonathan Toews and LW Tomas Fleischmann. Quenneville bumped RW Marian Hossa to the second line alongside C Artem Anisimov and LW Artemi Panarin. ... Flyers D Evgeny Medvedev was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. Medvedev, 33, has three goals and eight assists in 44 games this season. ... Blackhawks D Christian Ehrhoff returned to the lineup after missing the previous game as a healthy scratch. Ehrhoff replaced D Erik Gustafsson, who was a healthy scratch. ... Flyers RW Jakub Voracek participated in Wednesday's morning skate, but he remained out for the ninth consecutive game because of a lower-body injury.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Chicago
Sean Couturier 2 Points Marian Hossa 1
Radko Gudas 1 Goals Marian Hossa 1
Sean Couturier 2 Assists Artem Anisimov 1
Ryan White 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Marian Hossa 1
Michal Neuvirth .923 Save Percentage Scott Darling .897
Michal Neuvirth 24 Saves Scott Darling 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 29 3 1-2 3-3 6 32
Chicago 26 2 0-3 1-2 4 20
Upcoming Games
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .619 after a win and .517 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Flyers have a W/L % of .485 after a win and .500 after a loss.