PHILADELPHIA _ Several Flyers streaks came to an end Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center, where they ran into a sizzling goaltender and lost to Arizona, 3-1.
The Flyers had won five in a row, had points in seven straight games (6-0-1), and had collected points in 11 consecutive home games (7-0-4).
Darcy Kuemper put an end to all of that. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound goalie made 28 saves to key the win, giving them points in six of their last seven games (4-1-2).
The Flyers, who went 0-for-3 on their struggling power play, outshot Arizona, 29-18.
After scoring a combined 16 goals in their previous three games, the Flyers were blanked until defenseman Matt Niskanen's point drive deflected off Arizona's Conor Garland and past Kuemper with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in regulation. That cut the deficit to 2-1, but a cross-checking penalty on Kevin Hayes with 2:13 to go hurt the Flyers, and Phil Kessel (two goals) iced the win with an empty netter with 63 seconds remaining.
It was just the Flyers' second regulation loss at home all season. They are now 9-2-4 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Garland had scored on a rebound with 7:03 remaining, giving Arizona a 2-0 lead. Brian Elliott had made a great stop on him earlier in the period.
The Flyers dominated the second period, outshooting Rick Tocchet's Coyotes, 13-4, and creating several quality chances.
But Kuemper had all the answers, showing why he entered the night leading the NHL in goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.936) _ and keeping Arizona ahead, 1-0.
Among his second-period stops: saves on Travis Sanheim and Oskar Lindblom from the doorstep. Rookie center Morgan Frost, who is pointless in his last seven games, had the Flyers' best two chances in the second but missed the net on both shots.
Two early penalties on Claude Giroux (slashing, tripping) threw the Flyers out of their rhythm � and helped Arizona strike first.
Just 21 seconds after Giroux's first penalty, the Coyotes cashed in as Kessel tipped in Clayton Keller's saucer pass to finish a two-on-one with 17:45 left in the opening period. Elliott got a piece of the shot, but not enough to keep it out of the net. It was just Kessel's fifth goal in 30 games and second in his last 17 contests.
Kessel had limped off the ice after blocking Justin Braun's shot on his previous shift. The right winger was acquired in the offseason from the Penguins, and he will play in Pittsburgh on Friday.
The Flyers had just five shots and few scoring quality chances in the first period. Kuemper, the NHL's best goalie in the first two months, made his best save when he denied Hayes' backhander after he took a two-on-one pass from Scott Laughton while the Flyers were shorthanded with 12:31 to go in the first.
After two periods, the Flyers had outshot the Coyotes, 18-9, and had a 44-21 domination on shot attempts, but Arizona kept most of the shots from the perimeter.
