Sean Couturier Shines as NHL MVP of the Day for October 26, 2024, Leading Flyers to Victory
Sean Couturier scored three goals and was assisted by Rasmus Ristolainen for the winning goal, and the Philadelphia Flyers ended a six-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Wild 7-5 on Saturday. The defeat ended Minnesota’s seven-game point streak to start the season, marking their first regular loss.
Couturier, starting the game with a 32-game streak without scoring, netted the opening goal just over a minute in, then got a second goal during a scramble near the net in the third period, and completed the hat trick with an empty net goal.
“I thought I was getting some chances lately, puck just wasn’t going in, You have those nights sometimes where everything seems to go in and the puck finds you. Just like those rebounds, they just seemed to kind of pop back at me every time. So, those are nice, and you’ve got to take advantage of those.” : Couturier said
Couturier reached his 500th career point in the NHL with his first goal. In the third period, the Flyers looked unlike how they did in the first two periods. Philadelphia only managed to get six shots on goal in the first two periods, but they were able to increase that number to 17 in the last 20 minutes. The Flyers netted four goals in the last period to clinch the victory.
Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his 35th career shutout by saving 31 shots, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-0 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, stopping their five-game winning streak. Vasilevskiy performed exceptionally well in the second period, blocking every one of the 16 shots directed at him.
“They had a couple of shots from the blue line. The guys did a great job in front boxing out, Some of the plays like J.J. [Moser] did in the third period, the great backcheck on. I don’t want to see that in the third … ‘Ovi’ all alone in front. Great job by everyone.” : Vasilevskiy said
Stealing from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Dylan Strome in the final moments of the period, he also benefitted from the post on another shot from Dubois. It marked the 297th win in his career and his initial shutout against Washington. Vasilevskiy denied Aliaksei Protas on a breakaway starting from the red line 2:28 into the opening period to maintain a tie in the game.
Image Credit Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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