PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Noah Cates scored 2:36 into overtime to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to their second win of the season, 2-1 over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
Dan Vladar stopped 15 shots and has the only two wins for the Flyers in net through five games this season as he tries to distance himself from Samuel Ersson in the fight for the No. 1 goaltender spot.
The Flyers were fired up from faceoff in the third game of a four-game homestand.
Flyers forward Nicolas Deslauriers fought to a draw with fellow forward Marcus Foligno in an early game brawl that got a rise out of the crowd. Deslauriers, his right cheek reddened and cut, threw his head back and waved his arms toward the crowd as he skated toward the penalty box.
Cates sent a thinned-out crowd home happy when he beat Jesper Wallstedt in the waning moments of OT for the winner.
Vladimir Tarasenko beat Vladar in the opening minutes of the second period to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Minnesota had just three shots on goal in the first period a night after it lost 5-1 in Washington.
Owen Tippett tied the game 1-all early in the third when he backhanded the puck from behind the net and it caromed off the back of Wallstedt’s left goalie pad and into the net.
Wallstedt stopped 19 shots.
The Flyers needed a lucky bounce on Tippett's third goal of the season after starting with just one win in their first four games under first-year coach Rick Tocchet.
Wild: Play Monday at the New York Rangers.
Flyers: Host Seattle on Monday.
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