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 The latest win was Wednesday when the Flyers beat the Chicago
Blackhawks 3-0 at Wells Fargo Center.
"It's been unbelievable the last few days," Neuvirth said. "It's
been a true team effort, the whole system."
Philadelphia (2-1-1) picked up its second straight win behind the
27-year-old Neuvirth, starting again in place of goalie Steve Mason,
who is out because of a personal family matter. Neuvirth made 30
saves.
And one brilliant stop on Blackhawks right winger Marian Hossa, who
had a golden opportunity on a breakaway attempt in the second
period, was pivotal to the team's win.
"In that situation, that's a momentum, game-changing type of save,"
Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "Michal did a good job of that. I
thought he had another one in the second as well on a wraparound
attempt. He was good."
Neuvirth simply stuck to his game.
"I was just trying to stay patient and wait for him to do the first
move," he said. "It was a huge save for us."
Centers Claude Giroux and Sam Gagner provided the offense for
Philadelphia with a goal apiece in the second period, while left
winger Matt Read iced it late in the third with a goal off a
rebound.
For the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks (2-2-0), their
two-game winning streak was snapped and their regular-season
struggles in Philadelphia continued. The last time Chicago won a
game on Philly's home ice, it was a special one -- the 2010 Stanley
Cup finals clincher in Game 6, the first of their three Cups over
the last six seasons. Chicago has not won a regular-season game in
Philadelphia since 1996, however.
"Tonight would have been the night to get us going," Blackhawks
coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't get anything going. Give
them credit, they were the better team today.
"We took some careless penalties, gave them momentum, they had pace
and we stood around and watched for the majority of the game."
Goalie Corey Crawford (1-2-0) made 26 saves and has given up two or
more goals in all three of his starts this season.
"We had trouble with penalties in the second," Crawford said. "We
played fairly well."
On a second-period power play, courtesy of a high-sticking penalty
by left winger Ryan Garbutt, Gagner flung home a snap shot for his
first goal with the Flyers for a 1-0 lead.
Defenseman Michael Del Zotto and center Brayden Schenn earned
assists.
"We shouldn't be pleased at all," Quenneville said. "We should be
upset and excited about getting things right."
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Right winger Patrick Kane was cooled off after tallying three goals
and three assists in the Blackhawks' first three games this season.
Meanwhile, Giroux and right winger Jakub Voracek -- the Flyers'
top-two point leaders from last season -- compiled a goal and assist
between them after totaling just one point in the team's first three
games.
But the past two games, it's been all Neuvirth -- the backup not
playing like one.
"He did a great job," Hakstol said. "Stepped up and he was on."
NOTES: The Flyers honored former D Kimmo Timonen, who retired in the
offseason after winning the 2015 Stanley Cup Final with the Chicago
Blackhawks. The 40-year-old played 15 NHL seasons, including seven
with the Flyers. He won the Barry Ashbee Trophy -- given to the
team's best defenseman -- five times in seven seasons and ranks
third all-time among Flyers defensemen in points with 270 (38 goals,
232 assists) in 519 games. ... Blackhawks LW Ryan Garbutt was bumped
up to Chicago's top line, joining C Jonathan Toews and RW Marian
Hossa. Garbutt, acquired in an offseason trade with the Dallas
Stars, was held without a point in his first three games with the
Blackhawks. ... Blackhawks RW Kyle Baun and D David Rundblad were
healthy scratches. Both have appeared in one game thus far. ...
Flyers C R.J. Umberger missed his second game in a row with an
upper-body injury. C Sam Gagner replaced him in the lineup.
Giroux doubled the Flyers' lead by netting his first goal of the
season at 16:21 in the second. Left winger Michael Raffl wrapped
around the net and right there in front was Giroux to put it past
Crawford.
"You can look up and down the lineup and find a lot of different
things that are good and positive," Hakstol said. "Good goaltending,
extra efforts on the penalty kill, finishing a power-play goal and
just a lot of second efforts all over the ice."
The Flyers killed off all five of the Blackhawks' power plays,
including three in the third period.
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