Sedin switch sparks Canucks past Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Henrik Sedin didn't need his twin brother on his line to make big plays Tuesday.

Ryan Kesler scored his second goal of the game with 2:25 left in the third period, off an assist from Sedin, lifting the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the struggling Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

Chris Higgins got the tying goal for Vancouver 7:31 into the third, also on a Sedin assist, as the Canucks (4-3-0) ended a two-game losing streak.

Tye McGinn scored both of Philadelphia's goals.

With the Flyers leading 2-1 to start the third, Canucks coach John Tortorella switched up his lines and put Higgins and Kesler with Henrik Sedin, dropping Daniel Sedin from his brother's line.

"I think it changes the mindset of the other coach," Tortorella said. "They play really well together. It's very tough to split them up, but there's times it's going to happen. I think as we go through the game, those are calls we'll make."

Kesler and Higgins welcomed the opportunity to play with Henrik Sedin.

"Yeah, he's a fun player to play with," Kesler said. "He's always looking for you, and your job is pretty easy with him, just get open and get ready to shoot."

Kesler put the Canucks ahead after Higgins took a pass from Henrik Sedin and blasted a shot that goaltender Steve Mason stopped. The rebound kicked out to Kesler on the opposite side, and he fired it in as Mason made a desperate, diving attempt to slide across the crease.

The Flyers (1-6-0) had a flurry of shots at the end but couldn't get one past Roberto Luongo, who finished with 20 saves.

Higgins scored the tying goal off a perfect behind-the-net centering pass from Henrik Sedin. It was the 800th career point for Henrik Sedin, who is one of 10 active players to reach that total with one team.

"It's very easy to play with Higgy," Sedin said. "He works hard on the puck, he is strong on it, so I think it's a good thing for us to have going forward. A lot of times on the road they get their matchup and things aren't going our way, it's just a good thing to do (to switch lines)."

The Flyers have only 10 goals in seven games. Their top four goal-scorers last season -- Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read -- don't have any.

Read came close when he fired a shot off the crossbar early in the third period.

"You want to be able to help the team win, and again tonight I hit a couple posts," Giroux said. "The frustration is there. At the same time, we have to look at the video. We played a good game, but at the end of the game, we have to find a way to get the job done. We have to start winning games soon."

McGinn put the Flyers up 2-1 in the second period when he stuffed one in off a double deflection following a centering pass from Voracek that bounced off Giroux's stick on its way.

Called up from the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms after Vincent Lecavalier and Scott Hartnell were injured last week, McGinn leads the Flyers with three goals in just two games.

McGinn scored his first goal with 7:34 left in the first. McGinn backhanded a rebound off a shot by Nicklas Grossmann to make it 1-0.

Ten seconds later, Kesler put one into an empty net when Mason got caught going behind the net as the puck took a quirky bounce in front.

"Nobody is content with the outcomes of our games," Mason said. "Going into the third period with a one-goal lead, we have to find a way to get another goal or shut it down. It's disappointing."

The Flyers are 1-3 since Craig Berube replaced Peter Laviolette, who was fired following an 0-3 start.

"Confidence thing is the biggest thing," Berube said of the team's third-period woes. "We have to go out and take it to other teams. We're kind of sitting back and waiting for something bad to happen. You have to be mentally tough and go out and do it.

NOTES: The teams met for this first time since the Flyers beat the Canucks 5-4 in Philadelphia's home opener in Oct. 12, 2011. It was just the third time the Canucks played in Philadelphia in the past seven seasons. ... McGinn registered his first multi-goal game. He has six goals in 20 career games. ... The Canucks began a seven-game road trip Tuesday. ... The Flyers began the night as the most penalized team in the NHL. ... Canucks C Jordan Schroeder was in the lineup for the first time this season after missing six games with an ankle injury. ... Mason made his fifth start in net for the Flyers. He finished with 22 saves. G Ray Emery is 0-2 for Philadelphia. ... Luongo started for the sixth time in Vancouver's seven games.