Flyers beat Canucks behind 3 assists from Shayne Gostisbehere

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Shayne Gostisbehere's struggles have been well-documented, but the second-year defenseman had a breakout game Sunday night at Rogers Arena.

Displaying the offense that made him the runner-up in last year's rookie-of-the-year voting, Gostisbehere collected a career-high three points, all assists, to lead the Flyers past Vancouver, 3-2.

The Flyers salvaged a win in the final game of their 1-2 trip.

Wayne Simmonds, Jake Voracek, and Brayden Schenn scored for the Flyers, who got solid goaltending from Michal Neuvirth. The Flyers went 2 for 3 on their power pay, while Vancouver went 0 for 4 and managed just two shots over those eight minutes.

Gostisbehere had two primary assists among his three helpers. He scored as many points as he had in his previous 14 games combined.

"I'm not trying to put too much pressure on myself," said Gostisbehere, who has not scored in his last 32 games. "I'm just going out there and playing my game and doing whatever it takes to help my team."

The Flyers won for the first time in nine games (1-6-2) in Western Canada over the last three seasons.

"It's something to build off of," Simmonds said.

They are two points behind Toronto for the final playoff spot in the jumbled Eastern Conference wild-card race. The Maple Leafs have a game in hand.

Just five points separate the seven teams fighting for the last wild-card berth.

"This is a big push for us, and we're just trying to get points in every game," Gostisbehere said.

Voracek scored his 15th goal — but just his third on the road — as he knocked in a rebound of Sean Couturier's shot, putting the Flyers ahead, 2-0, with 18:49 left in the second.

Voracek has been baffled by his struggles away from the Wells Fargo Center.

"I play the same way at home as I do on the road," he said. "I don't change my game. It's just one of those things I can't explain."

About 1 ½ minutes after Voracek's goal, Schenn made it 3-0 with his 14th power-play goal, tops in the NHL. Schenn used a slick move in the high slot to get free and fire a shot past Ryan Miller.

But the Canucks stormed back, getting goals from Markus Granlund (deflection) and Jannik Hansen (rebound) to cut the deficit to 3-2 later in the second period.

In the third period, the Flyers allowed just six shots.

The Flyers were well-rested, while the Canucks were playing their second game in as many nights. Miller, 36, started on back-to-back nights for the first time this season.

"We have to jump on them early," Neuvirth said before the game. "It's not easy playing back to back, and we have to take advantage of that."

That's exactly what they did. The Flyers controlled the opening 10 minutes, got two early power plays, and struck first when Simmonds jammed a rebound past Miller with 14:15 left in the first. The power-play tally was set up by Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, and it was the 25th goal of the season for Simmonds, who is on pace for 35.

"The boys made a great play moving the puck around the outside. Ghost got off a good shot and I was able to clean up the rebound," Simmonds said.

Neuvirth, coming off a shaky performance in Thursday's 6-3 loss in Edmonton, was nonetheless given his seventh start in the last eight games, including all three contests on the road trip.

The 28-year-old goalie has been the subject of swirling trade rumors.

"Neuvy's been the guy who's been in a pretty good rhythm for us," coach Dave Hakstol said.

"I feel good, feel comfortable," Neuvirth said.

The Flyers had lost six of their previous eight games, scoring a total of only 10 goals (excluding an empty-netter) in that span.

"You go through tough stretches where you're doing a lot of things right, but not able to finish it. That's the kind of stretch we're in now," Hakstol said before the opening faceoff. "We have to do a little more to get over the hump and regain some of the swagger we had in a different time of the year."

They will need more than swagger to beat their next two opponents, Washington and Pittsburgh, teams that are among the NHL's elite.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull