Riemsdyk lifts Flyers past Minnesota Wild 7-4

James van Riemsdyk notched his fourth career hat trick to lift the host Philadelphia Flyers past the Minnesota Wild 7-4 on Monday. Nolan Patrick scored two goals and had two assists while Wayne Simmonds also added two goals for the Flyers, who had lost nine of 10 before the win. Scott Laughton tallied three assists for Philadelphia, while Claude Giroux and Radko Gudas recorded two assists each.

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart made 34 saves. Jason Zucker, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno and Ryan Suter each scored one goal for the Wild, who dropped their second in a row. Eric Staal had two assists for the Wild. Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk let in five goals and stopped 15 shots before being pulled for Alex Stalock.

The Wild took a 1-0 lead on the power play when Zucker tapped home a loose puck in front of Hart at 7:34 of the first period. It was Zucker's 13th goal of the season. Minnesota didn't take long in extending its lead to 2-0 when Eriksson Ek fired a shot through the pads of Hart at 8:26. Flyers interim head coach Scott Gordon then called for an early timeout. Philadelphia got within 2-1 when van Riemsdyk deflected a shot in front and into the goal at 12:04 for a power play goal. In a frenetic first period, van Riemsdyk scored again to equalize at 2 with a ricocheted shot in the crease at 18:48. The Wild went back in front 3-2 at 2:23 of the second period when Foligno scored.

Philadelphia tied the game again at 3 when Patrick scored at 4:59. Patrick, who registered his first goal in 25 games, notched his second of the game for a 4-3 lead at 15:28. Simmonds gave the Flyers a 5-3 lead when he scored with just 5.2 seconds remaining in the second. Suter scored for the Wild at 8:18 of the third to help Minnesota close within 5-4. Soon after, Patrick jarred a puck loose and Simmonds skated in and scored for a 6-4 advantage at 10:43. Van Riemsdyk added an empty net goal at 18:43, capping the scoring and sealing his hat trick.

(With inputs from agencies.)