National Hockey League
Arizona 4, Philadelphia 3
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 15, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Steve Kozari, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Vaughan Rody, Kory Nagy
Attendance: 17125

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson had just settled onto the Coyotes bench after an exhausting, two-minute overtime shift in which his team couldn't clear the puck from its defensive zone.

A few seconds after he caught his breath, Arizona assistant coach Jim Playfair tapped his shoulder and he was back on the ice doing what he does best.

Ekman-Larsson took a cross-ice feed from center Martin Hanzal and buried a high attempt at 3:12 of overtime as the Coyotes defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 to improve to 8-2 in NHL openers played at home.

"I was pretty tired. It didn't feel like a lot of rest, but I want to be on the ice all the time," said Ekman-Larsson, who set an NHL record for game-winning goals by a defenseman last season with eight. "I play with a lot of confidence in 3-on-3 and overtime. Marty did a really good job of finding me there so it really wasn't that hard to put it in."

Coyotes goalie Mike Smith made 27 saves for Arizona, including a critical, point-blank stop on right winger Matt Read during that long stretch of overtime where the Flyers held the puck in the Coyotes zone.

Shane Doan, Hanzal and Brad Richardson also scored for Arizona. Michael Raffl, Wayne Simmonds and Read scored for Philadelphia, which got 31 saves from Steve Mason and has earned three of four points on the three-game, season-opening road trip.

"We dug a little bit of a hole with the early penalty kills," said Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, whose team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to force overtime. "We've got to do a little bit better job but we continued to fight and scratch and claw our way out of a hole."

The Flyers lacked energy and focus early in the game after playing Friday in Los Angeles. They took three penalties in the first nine minutes, including two too-many-men penalties in the game's opening three minutes.

The Coyotes made them pay when rookie center Christian Dvorak won a faceoff in the offensive zone and pushed the puck to defenseman Alex Goligoski. He shoveled the puck to the net, where Doan collected it and slipped it inside the far post for a 1-0 lead at 8:49, moving the 21-year NHL veteran within three goals of 400 for his career.

"Every regular season game I play this year, I'm just going to keep scoring goals," the 40-year-old forward joked. "That's the way it always goes."

Philadelphia tied the score at 12:31 when Raffl deflected defenseman Nick Schultz's shot past Smith, and the Flyers thought they had taken the lead when center Boyd Gordon, a former Coyote, centered the puck from behind the net and it got trapped under Smith's pads.

There was no visual evidence the puck crossed the goal line so officials stuck with their original call.

"I knew where it was, I just wasn't sure if they did," Smith said, smiling. "I tried to play it off like it wasn't in. That's why I wore black (pads) tonight."

Arizona took the lead when rookie defenseman Jakob Chychrun took a pass in the neutral zone from left winger Max Domi and raced up the right wing. Chychrun's shot missed wide, but he stayed with the puck behind the net and centered it to Hanzal, who pushed it past goalie Steve Mason at 14:17.

Arizona widened the lead to 3-1 just 17 seconds into the second period on a Philadelphia power play. Left winger Jordan Martinook stripped Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere in the neutral zone and fed center Brad Richardson streaking toward the net. Richardson deked Mason to the ice and lifted a shot over Mason's waffle glove.

The Flyers pulled within 3-2 at 6:16 of the second period on right winger Wayne Simmonds rebound goal, and Read tied the game with a breakaway goal at 4:36 of the third period on a pass from left winger Travis Konecny.

"Great pass by T.K. there and I had enough speed through the neutral zone that I won that battle," Read said. "Unfortunately, we lost a point in overtime. It's a tough one to swallow after coming back in the third period."

NOTES: Coyotes LW Jamie McGinn missed the game with an upper-body injury. Rookie LW Lawson Crouse took his place. ... The Coyotes debuted four rookies. In addition to Crouse, C Laurent Dauphin, C Christian Dvorak and D Jakob Chychrun were in the lineup. Chychrun (18 years, 198 days) is the youngest player in Coyotes history to make his NHL debut. ... Coyotes rookie C Dylan Strome was a healthy scratch. ... Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere was sporting an ugly gash on his right cheek after he was cut by Kyle Clifford's skate early in Friday's game in Los Angeles against the Kings. Gostisbehere did not need stitches. ... The Flyers had three 23-year-olds (C Sean Couturier, LW Nick Cousins and Gostisbehere) and two 19-year-olds (LW Travis Konecny, D Ivan Provorov) combine for eight points in Friday. ... Coyotes D Michael Stone (knee) and Kevin Connauton (knee) are on the injured non-roster list. D Jarred Tinordi has four games remaining on a suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA performance-enhancing substances program.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Arizona
Brandon Manning 2 Points Martin Hanzal 2
Michael Raffl 1 Goals Martin Hanzal 1
Brandon Manning 2 Assists Martin Hanzal 1
N/A Power Play Goals Shane Doan 1
N/A Short Handed Goals Brad Richardson 1
Steve Mason .886 Save Percentage Mike Smith .900
Steve Mason 31 Saves Mike Smith 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 30 3 0-4 5-6 34 29
Arizona 35 4 1-6 4-4 8 23
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against Ottawa. The Coyotes have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Flyers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.