Phil Kessel scored a pair of power-play goals and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves as the visiting Arizona Coyotes skated to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Conor Garland added his team-leading 11th goal in the third period and Clayton Keller notched two assists for the Coyotes, who leapfrogged over idle Edmonton into first place in the Pacific Division.
Arizona has won the first two contests of its four-game road trip and improved to 10-3-3 away from home this season.
Defenseman Matt Niskanen scored in the third period and Brian Elliott finished with 15 saves for the Flyers, who saw their season-high five-game winning streak and 11-game home point run (7-0-4) come to a halt.
Arizona converted its first power-play opportunity for the second consecutive contest to open the scoring at 2:25 of the first period.
Kessel was no worse for wear after taking a shot off the ankle by Philadelphia defenseman Justin Braun and used his speed to breeze through the neutral zone on his next shift. Kessel fed Keller on the left wing before the latter returned the favor with a saucer pass at the doorstep for an easy conversion.
The Coyotes doubled their advantage with 7:03 remaining in the third period after Garland cleaned up a rebound of defenseman Jakob Chychrun's blast. Garland's goal was his first since Arizona's 3-0 victory over Los Angeles on Nov. 18.
Garland, however, was also involved in Philadelphia's goal that halved the deficit with 4:43 left in the third. Niskanen's shot from the above the left circle deflected off the stick of Garland and over the right shoulder of Kuemper for the defenseman's third goal of the season.
Kessel sealed the victory after scoring into the empty net with 1:02 remaining in the third period. A six-time 30-goal scorer, Kessel has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 48 career encounters against Philadelphia.
Keller's assists marked his second game with at least one point after going four straight without a goal or assist.
--Field Level Media
