Noah Cates scored 2:23 into overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Owen Tippett tied the game in the third period after Vladimir Tarasenko's second-period goal put Minnesota ahead. The win improves the Flyers to 2-2-1, while the Wild drop to 2-3-1 with their third straight loss.
The game, the first meeting between the teams this season, took place on Oct. 18 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Wild entered with lineup adjustments after a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Oct. 17, as defenseman Zach Bogosian was sidelined day-to-day with a lower-body injury from blocking a shot. They called up David Jiříček and Tyler Pitlick from Iowa, sending down Liam Öhgren. The Flyers welcomed back Cam York from injured reserve and were otherwise healthy.
Jesper Wallstedt started in net for Minnesota in his second game of the season, while Daniel Vladar handled duties for Philadelphia. The first period ended scoreless, with the Flyers outshooting the Wild 6-3 and controlling possession.
In the second period, Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 1:55 on an even-strength goal, assisted by Marco Rossi and Jonas Brodin. Tarasenko held a bouncing puck at the blue line, dumped it into the slot, received a pass from Rossi, and beat Vladar with a one-timer from the circle. The goal stood after an offside challenge by the Flyers. It was Tarasenko's first goal in six games since his June 30 trade from the Detroit Red Wings. "It's nice to score goals, but it's nicer to do it when the team gets a good result in the end," Tarasenko said. Minnesota forward Marcus Foligno added, "You can tell he's shot a lot of pucks in his days. He's a big, strong guy, and we're hoping that he can get more chances like that."
The Flyers tied it 1-1 at 7:10 of the third when Tippett banked a shot off Wallstedt's skate after a rebound. Tippett, who had an assist from Trevor Zegras extending his four-game point streak, played a season-high 18:39 with five shots on goal. "We knew we were in the game all along," Tippett said. "Low-event game, low-shot game. Just waiting for one to break through." Flyers coach Rick Tocchet praised him: "He's giving us some energy. He's been our most dynamic, driving-play guy."
Overtime saw the Wild control much of the play, hitting the post once, but Cates sealed the win on a wrister from the hash marks, assisted by Tyson Foerster and Jamie Drysdale. "I had that shot two or three times," Cates said. "Hit his knob once, low blocker the other time. So I just stuck with it." Vladar made 15 saves, including a key stop on Rossi, holding Minnesota to 16 shots—the fewest the Flyers had allowed in consecutive games since January 2006. Wallstedt stopped 19 shots.
Notes from the game include Brodin's 203rd assist, passing Andrew Brunette for ninth in Wild history, and the end of Matt Boldy's five-game point streak. Pitlick recorded four hits in 7:29 in his first NHL game since Feb. 9, 2024. Defenseman Nick Seeler contributed 18:06 of ice time with four hits and five blocks, while Travis Sanheim logged 29:58 and York 26:10.
