Flyers free-fall continues in home loss to Canucks

Philadelphia, PA -- The minute positives keep on coming for Craig Berube's squad, but they have yet to add up to one major victory.

Tye McGinn registered his second and third goals in a two-game span and a more consistent effort was in the offing, but Ryan Kesler scored  a pair of goals, including  the  deciding tally with 2:25  left in regulation, as the Vancouver Canucks upended the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Tuesday.

"He could have easily had a couple tonight," said Canucks head coach John Tortorella. "He just needs to stay playing in the areas he's been playing at and just keep banging away."

Stat which definitely means something: NHL PR stated that the Canucks improved to 20-0-1 in games where the American wingers has scored at least a pair of goals. 

Chris  Higgins added  a goal  and one  assist, with  Henrik Sedin  posting two helpers for the Canucks, who kicked off their seven-game road trip by snapping a two-game slide.

Roberto Luongo stopped 20 shots for the win, which boosted his club's record in Philadelphia to 5-3-1 since October of 1999.

"It was a nice one, especially since the couple of guys that scored goals had been working hard all year so far, but hadn't gotten rewarded much," the veteran netminder said. "So it's nice that they both contributed in a huge way there."

McGinn  registered his first  career two-goal  effort for the Flyers, who dropped to 1-6-0 on the year. Steve Mason made 22 stops in the loss.

The Penguins await on Thursday before a week-long break interrupts the busy portion of October's schedule. A loss in regulation to Pittsburgh would set a new franchise record for worst start to any season.

Ken Hitchcock was out as head coach following a 1-6-1 commencement in 2006-07.

Stat which may or may not mean anything: The Flyers won 15 faceoffs tonight and were operating at 30 percent efficiency (15-for-35) on draws. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the roughest night on the dot since February 15, 2009, when they were 15-for-52 (28.8 percent) in a 5-2 win at the New York Rangers. 

Encapsulating the offensive frustrations which have plagued the Orange and Black since the outset of the year, Matt Read cranked a shot off the crossbar from the right circle with six minutes played in the third, and that cost the Flyers as the Canucks tied the game soon after.

Higgins then waited on the left side unmarked to one-time a pass from Sedin at 7:31 for a 2-2 deadlock. Nik Grossmann tried to outwait Sedin and, when challenging the Swede behind the net, Henrik dished in front for the momentum-altering score.

It was 3-2 for the visitors with 2:25 left in regulation. Mason made a great save on the right side to deny Higgins, but the rebound popped to Kesler for a successful chance on the left side.

The Flyers capitalized on a shaky Luongo with 7:34 left in the first period, when McGinn followed up a Grossmann shot and backhanded the rebound home while diving towards the crease.

It was a carbon copy of the call-up's first goal of the season, which came in Detroit during Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Red Wings.

Just 10 seconds later, Kesler evened the score. Mason attempted to stop a wrap-around on the end boards but misplayed the carom, and the Vancouver forward chipped the loose disc into the empty cage.

"Yeah, it didn't get to me but I went right after it and made a play up the middle," Mason said of his misfortune. "You can't let things like that affect you, you can't always control what the puck does. You control what you do after that and I thought we played a pretty strong game."

Mason sprawled out to stifle a Jannik Hansen break-in on the second shift of the middle period, and it was 2-1 for the hosts at 2:10 when McGinn was at the left post to poke home a broken-up centering feed from Jakub Voracek that deflected off Claude Giroux.

"You know we were going 2-1 in that third period and to give up two goals against them in the third it definitely bites you in the tongue," McGinn said. "We have to find ways to win."

Notes: Coming into the contest, the Canucks sported the second-worst defense in the Western Conference with 20 goals against in six games ... Sedin's assist on Higgins' score gave him 800 career points, the first player in Vancouver history to have recorded all 800 with the club ... McGinn has registered goals in back-to-back games for the second time in his young career, having done so on February 11-12 of this year against Toronto and Winnipeg ... Philadelphia played its first home game against the Canucks -- then an expansion team -- 43 years ago today, recording a 5-4 victory .. The Flyers have been outscored by a 10-2 margin in third periods and have come up empty on their last 17 power-play attempts.