Kane has 3 points, Red Wings defeat Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists for the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Alex DeBrincat scored twice, and Lucas Raymond also had a goal for Detroit (40-27-8), which won for the second time in six games. John Gibson, who was pulled from his previous two starts, made 32 saves.

The Red Wings are tied in points with the Ottawa Senators but trail them for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference by virtue of having four fewer regulation wins (33-29). 

"I think right from the start we played hard, matched their physicality and their intensity," DeBrincat said. "I thought we played pretty well for the whole game. Obviously, third period, they came on us a little bit and it took us a little bit to settle in to that speed. Overall, right after their goal we score another one and get a big two points."

Tyson Foerster and Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia (37-26-12). Samuel Ersson made 15 saves.

The Flyers are two points behind the Senators for the second wild card. They also are three points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division and play them at UBS Arena on Friday.

"I thought we played a pretty good game," Konecny said. "We'll just get on to the next game tomorrow. ... We've got a big game tomorrow, so just keep pushing."

DeBrincat put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 18:49 of the first period. Kane found DeBrincat alone in the middle of the zone above the face-off circles, and he scored past Ersson's glove.

The Red Wings went 1-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. Special teams were a big emphasis for Detroit after Philadelphia went 2-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill in the Flyers' 5-3 win at the Red Wings on March 28.

"You win the special teams battle on any given night, you have a much better chance," Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. "We were down by two in Detroit last week and tonight to win it, maybe it was the difference."

Foerster, playing for the first time since Dec. 1, tied the game 1-1 at 31 seconds of the second period. A loose puck rolled to Foerster in the high slot, and he dragged it back and shot it past Gibson's blocker. The forward had missed the previous 49 games because of an arm injury.

At the time Foerster was injured, he was leading the Flyers with 10 goals in 21 games.

"It's frustrating again we lost tonight, but it's still encouraging that you go to the rink tomorrow, you have 'Foery' around the locker room," Konecny said. "It's still a big lift, big boost. He's just a pure goal-scorer."

Raymond made it 2-1 at 18:29. J.T. Compher one-touched Simon Edvinsson's centering pass out of the right corner to Raymond on the left side, and he scored from along the goal line.

Kane extended it to 3-1 at 9:37 of the third period when he finished a 2-on-1 rush with a shot that beat Ersson to the short side over his right shoulder.

"I thought (Flyers defenseman Travis) Sanheim was coming at me at first, and then he kind of backed off so had some space to go in and shoot," Kane said. 

The Flyers made it 3-2 at 10:29 when Porter Martone's shot deflected off Konecny as he drove to the net. The goal initially was disallowed for goaltender interference, but the call was overturned after a coach's challenge. The assist was Martone’s first NHL point in his second game.

Just 15 seconds later, DeBrincat made it 4-2 at 10:44 when his shot from along the goal line on the left side of the Philadelphia zone deflected off the stick of Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and past Ersson.

Philadelphia continued to press, outshooting Detroit 15-4 in the third period, but couldn't get any closer. Part of the reason was five of the Flyers' 21 missed shots came in the third.

"We're missing the net way too much," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. "It's become a problem this year. I love the effort tonight. (The Red Wings) had a couple big moments, they scored and we didn't, and that's really what it came down to. We had our chances. We just didn't put them in."

NOTES: With his goal, Kane got his 1,392nd point to pass Brett Hull for 26th in NHL history. He finished the game at 1,393 (506 goals, 887 assists), one behind Luc Robitaille for 25th. He also has eight points (two goals, six assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Red Wings defenseman Justin Faulk left the game with 5:48 remaining in the second period because of a lower-body injury. McLellan said Faulk would be evaluated Friday. ... Gibson started his 13th straight game, matching the longest run of his NHL career; he started 13 straight with the Anaheim Ducks in 2018-19. ... Flyers forward Trevor Zegras had an assist on Foerster’s goal, giving him seven points (one goal, six assists) during a seven-game point streak. ... In addition to his assist, Martone had a game-high nine shots on goal.