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It wasn’t pretty, but Coyotes beat Flyers to end five-game skid

Arizona Coyotes v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 27: Roman Lyubimov #13 and Chris VandeVelde #76 of the Philadelphia Flyers collide during the second period against the Arizona Coyotes at the Wells Fargo Center on October 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) Martin Hanzal and Brad Richardson scored the decisive goals to help the Arizona Coyotes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Thursday night to snap a five-game road losing streak.

Jamie McGinn, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ryan White also scored for Arizona. The Coyotes have their only two wins this season against the Flyers.

The Coyotes salvaged one victory on a season-long, six-game road trip.

Louis Domingue stopped 28 shots and won his first game of the season. He had been 0-4 with a 5.03 goals against average and had stopped only 85 percent of his shots.

Nick Cousins, Brayden Schenn, Andrew MacDonald and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers.

The Coyotes snapped a tie with two straight goals in the third scored in a bit of a bizarre manner.

Schenn leveled defenseman Michael Stone and Coyotes teammate Jakob Chychrun quickly came to his defense. Chychrun and Schenn brawled against the boards as the crowd erupted - and no one paid attention to the puck.

Hanzal made it 3-2 and led to a few confusing moments as officials checked to make sure the goal was scored before the fight. Wildly cheering fans fell silent in a second when the goal was announced.

Chychrun was tossed for instigating the fight.

Richardson made it 4-2 on a goal that was reviewed because the Flyers thought he ran down goalie Steve Mason. Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov took Richardson down and they went into the net together so the goal counted.

MacDonald, having a miserable season, made it 4-3 but the Flyers were out of rallies.

White scored an insurance goal late in third to send fans toward the exits. Simmonds scored with 14.3 seconds left.

The Flyers again had to rally from an early deficit, a troubling theme for a team with playoff aspirations. The Coyotes led 2-0 in the first, the latest slow start for the Flyers. They have been outscored 8-1 in the first period this season and allowed the first goal for the seventh straight game.

Coach Dave Hakstol hoped a line change would boost the Flyers offense. He moved 19-year-old rookie center Travis Konecny to the top line with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek after that late-game pairing helped the Flyers come back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Buffalo.

“We needed a spark, that’s why we’re trying something a little bit different,” Hakstol said.

Konecny, the Flyers’ first-round pick of the 2015 draft, has been solid since he opened eyes in training camp and scored his first career goal against the Sabres. He entered tied for the rookie lead with five assists and said he would keep the same approach even with the line promotion.

“I’m not going to change anything in my game,” he said. “I’m just going to try and help them and create space for them.”

The Flyers needed help early.

Moments after they honored former great Eric Lindros - in his No. 88 sweater - another 88 got them with a goal. McGinn scored his first goal of the season to beat Mason. Ekman-Larsson followed with a slapper from the point for his fifth goal of the season.

The Coyotes, who last won on opening night against the Flyers on Oct. 15, failed to hold the lead.

Cousins pounded home a rebound for his first goal of the season and Schenn followed with a power-play score to help the Flyers at least tie the game when down two goals for the fifth time this season.

Notes: The Flyers played without a suspended player for the first time this season. ... The Flyers honored 14 members of the team’s Hall of Fame, along with the family of six other members, including: Bob Clarke, Ron Hextall, Bernie Parent and Dave Schultz. The Flyers have a variety of nostalgic celebrations planned this season for their 50th anniversary. ... Coyotes D Luke Schenn, a former Flyer, played against his brother.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host Colorado on Saturday.

Flyers: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.