Bobby Brink scores first NHL goals as Flyers continue hot start with win over Wild

It felt like it was only a matter of time.

In the five games Bobby Brink had played since making the Flyers out of training camp, he did everything but score a goal. His line had been buzzing around the opposing net, and he entered Thursday night with two assists to show for it.

For Brink, the moment 30 minutes into Thursday night’s game was 22 years in the making. And 22 years from now, maybe he’ll forget how his first NHL goal came with a little help from referee Chris Rooney. Especially when he can lean on having scored another later in the same game.

Brink’s first two career NHL goals helped the Flyers earn a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at the Wells Fargo Center.

Brink’s first came after Sean Couturier centered a pass off of a broken play that knocked off of Rooney and onto Brink’s stick.

The diminutive winger still had some work to do, and he deftly got the puck past Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead. Brink raised his arms, skated toward the corner and let out a roar.

“It’s nice to get a bounce there, a little luck, and was able to put it home,” Brink said. “It’s a pretty special moment. I’ve been thinking about it forever, a lot of years of hockey and a lot of stuff leading up to this moment. It’s just a really special moment for me and my whole family.”

“As much as I think he knows and we know how well he’s played, scorers want the goals,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “I’m happy for him. He’s put a lot of work into it.”

Brink’s first goal was the exclamation point on another 30-minute stretch where the Flyers again dominated a team projected to reach the Western Conference playoffs, and it gave them the cushion they needed to improve their record to 4-2-1.

» READ MORE: Flyers shuffle defensive corps with roster moves ahead of Thursday night game vs. Minnesota

Tuesday night in Las Vegas, the Flyers were surprisingly the better team for more than 30 minutes.

It was a repeat Thursday, but with a different end result.

Shortly after Brink’s goal, the Wild came to life. The Flyers had a 22-8 shot advantage midway through the second period and took a 3-0 lead into the third. But before Owen Tippett cruised in on a breakaway to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead, Minnesota had 14 of the game’s previous 19 shots.

The Wild took advantage of some sloppy Flyers defensive zone play and scored two goals — by Dakota Mermis and Marcus Foligno — separated by 1:25 to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 15:30 left in the third period.

But Tippett’s goal, which came after a Cam Atkinson takeaway at the Flyers’ blue line, stopped the Wild’s surge.

“At the TV timeout we just took a breather and relaxed a little bit,” Couturier said.

» READ MORE: Flyers show some good, some bad in last-minute loss to Vegas. It was a microcosm of what they are.

It was pretty obvious in camp that Tortorella liked what Brink brought to the table. The Flyers are short on natural offensive creators, and that’s exactly what Brink is. Tortorella has frequently talked about Brink’s instinctive ability to see the next play, which Tortorella says you can’t teach.

But the Flyers, and Tortorella specifically, clearly trust Brink to do more than just be an offensive weapon. You need no more evidence than his time-on-ice total against Vegas, in a game the Flyers went toe-to-toe with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Brink played more than 19 minutes. Only Couturier played more among the Flyers forwards.

Thursday morning, Tortorella said Brink’s line — with Noah Cates centering and Joel Farabee on the left wing — had been the Flyers’ best unit.

Brink’s first goal came while on the power play and not with his linemates, but the line had another productive night, capped off by Brink scoring another goal in transition after Farabee sent him a cross-ice pass that left him with a tap-in.

“You’ve got three guys working hard, trying to protect the puck, doing what we can,” Brink said. “That pass by Joel is just an unbelievable pass. I didn’t see any room even and he fits it through there at the last second, right on my tape. They don’t come much easier than that.”

Travis Konecny continued his hot start to the season, scoring his sixth goal in seven games to open the scoring in the first period. ... Sean Couturier gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal 7:28 into the second period. The Flyers entered Thursday with the league’s worst power play (5%). ... Travis Sanheim scored his first goal of the season and added two assists while playing a game-high 27 minutes, 36 seconds. ... Carter Hart made 26 saves.

The Flyers play again at home Saturday against Anaheim (1 p.m. NBCSP). Their four-game home stand continues Monday against Carolina and Wednesday against Buffalo.