The Philadelphia Flyers earned themselves a gutsy come from behind victory in the shootout against divisional rival Washington Capitals by a score of 4-3.
The Flyers hadn’t lost in regulation after scoring the first goal of the game and that trend continued after Owen Tippett tied things up late in the third to force overtime.
Bobby Brink scored the opening goal of the game before Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead heading into the third. Joel Farabee tied things up, Dylan Strome then re-took the lead, before Tippett’s late game-tying tally.
Samuel Ersson stopped 2 shots in the shootout, Sean Couturier scored in the skills competition again, and Brink earned the winner after not falling for the diving poke check. The Flyers extended their point streak to 7 as they now sport a 6-0-1 record during that stretch.
The Flyers returned to the confines of the Wells Fargo Center after capturing 5 out of a possible 6 points on their mini road trip in Arizona, Colorado, and Nashville. They were pegged in another divisional matchup but this time it was their first encounter against the just-as-surprising Capitals who were 2 points behind the Flyers for 3rd in the metro as they were holding onto the final wild card spot but tied with 3 other clubs entering play tonight.
For the Flyers, goaltender Carter Hart was ruled out ahead of the game with an illness, Felix Sandström was called up on an emergency basis, Marc Staal returned to the lineup, and Egor Zamula returned to the press box. Samuel Ersson earned his 2nd consecutive start with Hart feeling, looking to improve his 5-3-2 record. Capitals centre Evgeny Kuznetsov was also ruled out just ahead of the game with an illness.
As for the Capitals, they started the season 14-8-3 but very uncharacteristically as they sat 30th in goals scored, 29th in shots on goal, 32nd on the power play, 27th in shooting percentage, and 29th in face-offs. Their goaltending and defense kept them afloat with the 9th best goals against average in the league and goaltender Charlie Lindgren playing more like the 1A goaltender in their tandem with a .931 SV% and a 2.34 GAA.
Alexander Ovechkin paced the club with 16 points through 25 games entering tonight, John Carlson and Tom Wilson were right behind him with 15, and Dylan Strome and Connor McMichael had 14. Strome’s 11 goals led the club with Wilson adding 9 of his own and Ovechkin currently only owning 5 goals to date. Lindgren earned his 10th start of the season, giving Darcy Kuemper the night off.
FIRST PERIOD
67 seconds into the game, Martin Fehérváry was called for a holding minor as he wrapped his arm around Sean Couturier behind the Capitals net but unfortunately were unable to get much of anything going in their attempt to take an early lead.
With 10:36 remaining in the first period, Garnet Hathaway was assessed an illegal check to the head minor penalty on Nic Dowd in the neutral zone, sending the 32nd-ranked power play onto the ice against the 4th-ranked penalty kill. It was another strong kill from a Flyers unit that entered tonight having successfully killed 43 of their previous 45 attempts.
With 2:08 left to play in the opening frame, Couturier was assessed a high-sticking minor against T.J. Oshie. The Capitals had a little more sustained pressure but the Flyers once again had the best opportunity but Cam Atkinson’s pass to Scott Laughton just missed the mark.
A rather quiet first period came to an end with both teams tied heading into the intermission and the Capitals holding a 7-3 shot advantage.
SECOND PERIOD
2:14 into the middle frame, the Flyers scored the opening goal after Bobby Brink finished off a rebound opportunity in front of Lindgren for his 4th of the season. Marc Staal’s simple point shot through traffic was stopped by the goaltender, but he allowed a juicy rebound that Brink was able to tap away into the net.
Unfortunately, the Capitals tied things up just 46 seconds later courtesy of Connor McMichael. Aliaksei Protas found the young McMichael all alone in front of Samuel Ersson with Scott Laughton losing his assignment. Ahead of the game, the Protas-McMichael-Anthony Mantha line were highlighted by the Capitals broadcast as they combined for 15 goals and 33 points on the season – now add three more to that total.
8 seconds later and 3:08 into the period, Oshie tripped up Staal sending the Flyers onto the power play for the second time. After going 0-for-2, the Flyers were sent back to the power play after Oshie received a high-sticking minor this time around with 10:13 remaining, but once again the power play performed to no avail.
With 5;25 left in the period, Laughton was assessed an interference minor that the Capitals were able to capitalize on just 54 seconds in courtesy of Tom Wilson.
The Flyers failed to clear the puck out of the zone, the Capitals set up once again, Oshie passed it to Dylan Strome at the side of the net, who passed it through the cross – deflected off Travis Sanheim – to Tom Wilson for his 10th of the season.
With their first sustained offensive zone shift in a very long time, Atkinson was able to draw a tripping penalty on Joel Edmundson with 1:53 left to play in the middle frame. Then with 38 seconds left in the period and 45 on the initial penalty, McMichael was called for a tripping minor, sending the Flyers to an abbreviated 5-on-3.
The Flyers power play once again proving to be their Achilles’ heel as they slump into the intermission down 2-1 on the boxscore and 18-16 on the scoresheet.
THIRD PERIOD
The Flyers did start the third period with several chances but the damage had been done after failing to capitalize on the first 45 seconds to end the 2nd period.
5:25 into the third period, Joel Farabee tied things up at 2 after taking advantage of a behind-the-net turnover from the Capitals. Ryan Poehling did a lot of the hard work behind the net as Farabee was able to snatch the puck before wrapping it around past Lindgren for his 11th of the season.
The Capitals retook the lead with 10:55 remaining in the third period after Strome finished off a broken-stick shot attempt that found him right at the side of the net.
Wilson won the race to the puck behind the net, fed a pass to Protas for the one-timer that broke his stick but it found Strome who had an open net to finish off the play for his team-leading 12th goal of the season.
With 2:59 remaining in the third period, the Flyers knotted things up from a point shot from Owen Tippett. He decided to throw it towards the net with traffic in front of the net and it caught Lindgren off guard as he collected his 10th of the season.
Another overtime session awaited the Flyers, who turned the game upside down on the Capitals in the final 10 minutes as they looked for the tying goal.
OVERTIME
Atkinson had the Flyers best opportunity as he was sprung onto a breakaway by Poehling but his shot was blockered aside by Lindgren.
Ovechkin countered that with an odd-man rush of his own a few minutes later but his shot was held onto by Ersson for the whistle.
SHOOTOUT
Couturier: Goal
Oshie: Goal
Foerster: Miss
Strome: Miss
Brink: Goal
Mantha: Miss
Bobby Brink’s goal and Anthony Mantha’s ensuing miss against Ersson landed the Flyers their fifth win in their last seven games.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will welcome the Detroit Red Wings into the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night (7:00pm ET, NBCSP) as they look to extend their point streak to eight games.
Union Forge Vodka proudly serves as the Official Vodka of Flyers Nation. This partnership celebrates the unyielding spirit of Flyers fans and offers a quality spirit that perfectly compliments the team’s essence. Whether celebrating victories or showing resilience, Union Forge Vodka embodies the winning spirit of both the Flyers and their dedicated fans. Stay connected with exciting giveaways by following @unionforge and @flyersnation across all social media platforms.
