Flyers stay hot, beat Wild

ST. PAUL – Their longest road trip of the season has started off nicely for center Vinny Lecavalier and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Lecavalier scored an insurance goal in the third period and the Flyers beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 Tuesday night.
Center Sean Couturier and right wingers Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds also scored for Philadelphia, which has won three straight and five of seven. The Flyers are 6-1-3 in their past 10 games. Left winger Michael Raffi added an empty-net goal.
Wins in Toronto, Winnipeg and Minnesota by a combined 16-9 are the start of an eight-game road trip for Philadelphia, whose arena is hosting Disney on Ice until Jan. 4. The Flyers begin a five-game jaunt Saturday in Nashville.
“It’s a tough trip, it’s a tough part of the year,” said goaltender Ray Emery. “We’ve got a lot of work to do after the break, but the best possible result we could ask for is three wins here leading into it.”
A rejuvenated Lecavalier doesn’t hurt, either.
Leading 3-2 in the third period, Philadelphia defenseman Pierre-Edouard Bellemare sent a pass to defenseman Andrew MacDonald near the left point. His wrist shot from there was deflected by Lecavalier past Minnesota goaltender Darcy Kuemper at 5 minutes, 29 seconds.
A healthy scratch for seven games earlier this month, Lecavalier scored two goals in the third period Sunday to tie the game before the Flyers beat Winnipeg 4-3 in overtime.
“I felt great again tonight and it’s been going great the last three games,” he said. “I want to keep it going.”
Instead of sulking when he was benched, Lecavalier chose to work harder and earn his newfound playing time on the team’s fourth line.
“He’s had such a positive attitude and he’s been playing great as of late. He just brings a little bit of extra to our team,” Simmonds said.
Minnesota, losers of four straight and 1-3-2 in its last six games, got goals from defenseman Marco Scandella and center Charlie Coyle. Kuemper made 25 saves.
Coach Mike Yeo said the Wild are missing some key ingredients, including, “Winner’s attitude. Teamwork. Those things in particular.”
Philadelphia 2 1 2- 5
Minnesota 1 1 0- 2
First Period-1, Philadelphia, Couturier 9 (Umberger) 7:16. 2, Philadelphia, Giroux 11 (Schenn, Voracek) 9:33. 3, Minnesota, Scandella 8 (Spurgeon, Parise) 10:03.
Second Period-4, Minnesota, Coyle 3 (Pominville, Suter) 3:43 (pp). 5, Philadelphia, Simmonds 15 (Schenn, Streit) 15:22.
Third Period-6, Philadelphia, Lecavalier 5 (MacDonald, Bellemare) 5:29. 7, Philadelphia, Raffl 10 (Voracek) 19:31 (en).
Shots on Goal-Philadelphia 8-11-11-30. Minnesota 7-10-7-24.
Power-play opportunities-Philadelphia 0 of 1. Minnesota 1 of 5.
Goalies-Philadelphia Emery 7-4-1 (24 shots-22 saves). Minnesota Kuemper 11-10-0 (29-25).
A-19,020 (18,064). T-2:34.