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 The rookie center scored the deciding goal in the fourth round of
the shootout, lifting the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-3 victory over the
Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
"I didn't really think," Karlsson said. "I knew I was going to
shoot, so I was just trying to find the open net. Luckily it went
in."
Right wingers Tim Jackman and Devante Smith-Pelly and left winger
Matt Beleskey scored goals in regulation for the Ducks (3-1-0).
Right wingers Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds and defenseman Mark
Streit recorded regulation-time goals for the Flyers (0-2-2).
Voracek got the tying goal with 5:20 left in the third period, but
the Flyers are winless in their first four games for the first time
since the 2008-09 season.
"We played solid all game pretty much," Flyers coach Craig Berube
said. "We made a couple of mistakes, and they capitalized. The third
goal is a mistake that can't be made. But other than that, the guys
played hard and did a lot of good stuff. In the end, we don't win.
Obviously it wasn't good enough and we know that. But there were a
lot of good things to build off of. We're going to go practice and
get better."
Right winger Jakob Silfverberg snapped a shot that beat goaltender
Steve Mason to the glove side in the shootout, but Flyers captain
Claude Giroux beat Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen with a
backhand-to-forehand-to-backhand move.
After center Ryan Kesler hit the post with a chance to win it for
the Ducks, Karlsson skated in and wristed a shot past Mason.
Andersen made 39 saves and also stopped Voracek, right winger Matt
Read and center Sean Couturier in the shootout.
Voracek tied it at 3-3 when he took a pass from defenseman Michael
Del Zotto, skated from behind the net and lifted a backhander into
the top corner over Andersen's shoulder.
However, the Flyers couldn't win it in overtime, and then they lost
their seventh consecutive shootout dating to last season. The Flyers
have the worst shootout record, 27-53, since the NHL added them in
2005-06.
"We came back and it comes down to that skills competition in the
shootout and it's something that has been an Achilles heel for us
and we have to get better at that," Mason said.
After Philadelphia rallied from a 2-0 deficit, the Ducks made sure
they had momentum and a 3-2 lead going into intermission when
Beleskey scored with 16.8 seconds left in the second period.
Center Ryan Getzlaf set up the goal with a perfect centering pass to
Beleskey, who beat an out-of-position Mason with a nifty move and
backhanded a shot into an open net.
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"It was a big goal because they had everything going their way and
it was an incredible pass by Ryan and we go into the third with the
lead and I always like to think our record is pretty good with the
lead in the third period," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said.
The Flyers started their comeback in the second period when Streit
scored off a no-look pass from Giroux during a five-on-three
advantage. Streit ripped a one-timer that bounced off the left post
and went in.
Simmonds tied it at 2-2 with a relentless effort, chopping away in
front of the net until he pushed a loose puck past Andersen for his
fifth goal in four games.
The Ducks jumped ahead 1-0 in the first when Jackman scored his
first goal of the season and 28th in 430 career games. Mason stopped
defenseman Francois Beauchemin's slap shot, but his clearing attempt
went right to Jackman, who flipped it in with a backhander.
Two seconds after a power play ended, Smith-Pelly deflected
defenseman Hampus Lindholm's slap shot past Mason to make it 2-0.
NOTES: Flyers C Vincent Lecavalier didn't play because of a left
foot injury that is expected to sideline him for two weeks.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare moved from the fourth line to the second
line to take his spot while Blair Jones entered the lineup for the
first time to center the fourth line. ... Ducks LW Dany Heatley is
expected to miss two more weeks because of a groin injury. ... Ducks
RW Kyle Palmieri remains sidelined by a high ankle injury. ... The
Ducks won both games vs. the Flyers last season. ... Flyers D
Braydon Coburn missed his second straight game because of a
lower-body injury. ... The Ducks completed their season-opening,
four-game road trip. They will play the Minnesota Wild on Friday
night in their home opener.
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