Flyers take positives from 2-1 trip

In their first extended road trip of the season, the Flyers passed the test. Somehow.

Though they had some unsettling defensive moments, the Flyers won two of three games - sandwiching wins in Dallas and Pittsburgh around a one-sided defeat in Chicago - to bring some equilibrium to a shaky start.

"It's a good trip," coach Craig Berube said. "You're not happy about certain things, but when you look at the big picture, we got two wins on the road. We'll take it and go home, get rested up, and play Saturday."

The Flyers (2-3-2) overcame a 4-2 third-period deficit in Dallas and won in overtime, 6-5, before being totally outclassed and losing in Chicago, 4-0, in a game in which they were outshot, 14-1, at the outset.

But they salvaged a winning trip by going into their second home - the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, where they are a mind-boggling 10-1-1 in regular-season games since the arena opened in 2010 - and overcoming another awful start. They trailed, 1-0, and were outshot by 9-3 at the start of the game. It marked the sixth time in the first seven games that the Flyers had allowed the first goal.

No matter. Despite playing their second game in as many nights, despite missing their two top defensemen (Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen) and their second-line center (Vinny Lecavalier), the Flyers outplayed the Penguins over the last 50 minutes of a 4-3 victory.

"It was a huge game for us," said winger Jake Voracek, who had two assists, giving him points in six of the first seven games. "I said before we left on the road trip, if we get four points it would be huge, it would be successful. And that's what we got, so we can go home happy."

The Flyers return to the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night against Detroit, and Berube has an interesting decision: Does he go with Ray Emery (2-0-1) - who has five of the Flyers' six points - or Steve Mason (0-3-1) in the nets?

Emery (2.84 goals-against average, .897 save percentage) has been the steadier goalie, but the Flyers want to get Mason (3.83, .878) untracked.

"He's played well," Berube said of Emery. "We'll look at it and talk about it, like we always do. We'll put the best team on the ice Saturday."

General manager Ron Hextall had no update on winger Zac Rinaldo, who suffered an upper-body injury and didn't return after the first period Wednesday in Pittsburgh. . . . Lecavalier (foot injury) will skate on his own Friday at the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees. . . . Wayne Simmonds has the team's best plus-minus rating at plus-4, while Luke Schenn has the worst at minus-8. . . . Winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on scoring his first NHL goal Wednesday: "It felt pretty unbelievable, especially because we won the game." . . . R.J. Umberger had his second career Gordie Howe hat trick: a goal, an assist, and a fight. . . . Tickets to the 38th annual Flyers Wives Carnival go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at comcasttix.com. The carnival is March 1.