PHILADELPHIA _ Anthony Stolarz made history Sunday night, becoming the first New Jersey-born goalie to play in an NHL game and helping the Flyers defeat Calgary, 5-3, at the Wells Fargo Center.
But Stolarz, a 22-year-old rookie who grew up in Jackson, N.J., had to share the story line with Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Chris VandeVelde, and Roman Lyubimov, each of whom had a goal and an assist.
Voracek snapped a six-game streak without a point as the Flyers ended a two-game skid. Simmonds joined Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, and Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele as the only NHL players in double figures in goals (11) and assists (10).
Lyubimov, a healthy scratch the previous seven games, had the first two-point performance of his young NHL career, and VandeVelde had his first two-point game of the season.
The 6-foot-6 Stolarz, who became the tallest goalie to ever play for the Flyers, overcame a shaky start (T.J. Brodie's short-handed goal) as he settled into a groove and made several difficult stops among his 29 saves.
"It's something special for him, and it makes it special for us," left winger Michael Raffl said after tying the score late in the first period.
"He looked very calm and made himself big in the net," Voracek said.
Stolarz patiently waited his turn. Over the last few seasons, he was recalled from the AHL's Phantoms seven times and was the backup in 26 games before finally making an NHL appearance.
With a little over two minutes left in the opening period, Voracek circled behind the net and his pass deflected off Brodie's stick to Raffl, who got position on defenseman Dennis Wideman and backhanded a point-blank shot past Chad Johnson.
Voracek, VandeVelde, and Simmonds scored in the first 7:44 of the second period, giving the Flyers a 4-1 lead.
Just like their first goal, the Flyers (10-10-3) got a fortuitous deflection on their second tally, Voracek's eighth of the season and just his second in the last 12 games.
From a bad angle deep in the right circle, Voracek appeared to be trying to thread a pass to a streaking Simmonds in front, but the puck deflected off defenseman Mark Giordano's stick and over Johnson's right shoulder 52 seconds into the middle period. It was Voracek's first power-play goal, matching last season's total.
Claude Giroux helped set up the goal, enabling him to move past Simon Gagne and into 10th place on the franchise's all-time assist list. It was Giroux's 366th career assist.
The Flyers came in swarms most of the night, outshooting the Flames, 43-32.
Brayden Schenn, demoted to the fourth line, hustled behind the net and helped harass Johnson into a bad clearing pass to help set up the third goal _ Lyubimov's feed deflected off VandeVelde's skate and into the net.
Three Flyers goals, three deflections that went the Orange and Black's way.
Twenty-four seconds after VandeVelde's second goal in as many games, Simmonds scored on a breakaway to put the Flyers ahead, 4-1. Nick Cousins' slick pass sent away Simmonds, and he used a backhander to score fifth goal in the last nine games.
Defenseman Michael Del Zotto, a healthy scratch the previous three games, also aided the attack with a pair of assists. The Flyers' defensemen have 63 points, tops among NHL blueliners.
Calgary, which scored two shorthanded goals, finished a 3-2 road trip that included wins at Detroit, Columbus, and Boston. Johnson had been on a certified roll before Sunday, going 5-1 with a 1.17 goals-against average and .957 save percentage in his previous six games.
