SPORTSCAGE TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES (AP) – With their owner Ed Snider in attendance, the struggling Philadelphia Flyers pulled off a season sweep of the defending Stanley Cup champions Saturday afternoon at Staples Center.

Steve Mason made 37 saves against the Los Angeles Kings, and the Flyers got goals from Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds in a 2-1 victory on Saturday that snapped a six-game losing streak.

“It’s always frustrating when you’re losing. But by the same token, it happens to teams,” Snider said. “We were hoping for a good trip, and it could have been better.

“If we hadn’t given up that goal in San Jose with 15 seconds to go, we wouldn’t have lost in regulation in any of these games. So I’m very proud of this team. I’ve got a lot of confidence in our players. We’ve got a lot of good kids, and I think we’re going to get better and better.”

The victory was only the second in 12 games for the Flyers, who avoided tying the franchise record of 10 consecutive road losses.

“I think you have to look at this as a turnaround for us, I hope,” Snider said. “I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen. Mason did the job today – but when you come into this building, it’s tough no matter who you are.”

The players weren’t intimidated at all by Snider’s presence at a road game. Quite the contrary.

“Ed’s really good with us, and he’s first class,” Simmonds said. “He’s been unbelievable to us, and we owe it to him and the rest of the organization to be better.”

Justin Williams scored for the Kings, who limited the Flyers to just 16 shots against Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles was 0 for 5 on the power play against a penalty-killing unit that came in with the league-worst 74.4 success rate.

Simmonds, who spent his first three NHL seasons with the Kings before he was traded to Philadelphia with Brayden Schenn for Mike Richards in June 2011, made it 2-0 at 2:08 of the second period with his 11th goal.

NOTES: The Flyers beat the Kings 3-2 on Oct. 28 at Philadelphia with Schenn’s overtime goal. The last time the Flyers played at Staples Center on Feb. 1, 2014, Simmonds scored his 100th NHL goal and Mason made 35 saves in a 2-0 victory. … Richards, who averaged 28 goals during his final four seasons in Philadelphia, has 45 goals in 231 regular-season games with the Kings. … Giroux entered Saturday second in the league in shots on net with 107, four behind Alex Ovechkin. … Kings RW Marian Gaborik missed his fourth straight game because of an upper body injury. … The Kings begin a five-game road trip Tuesday night at Buffalo.