It wasn’t the prettiest win but the Philadelphia Flyers will take them however they can get them. After squandering a 2-0 lead to the Ottawa Senators by allowing three straight goals, the Flyers tied it up late and scored early in overtime to extend their point streak to 5 games (4-0-1).
After having their mini 3-game winning streak snapped with their dud of a performance in Montreal on Thursday night, the Flyers returned home to face-off against the Senators in what felt like another must-win game. With so many games around the NHL being postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Flyers needed to settle their minds and make sure to come out firing before any future postponements.
FIRST PERIOD
On the first shift of the game, the Flyers offense was humming as Joel Farabee hit the post upon his return. The Flyers kept the pressure going as they outshot the Senators 10-0 by the second commercial break with 7:11 remaining in the period. Claude Giroux got things going, scoring the first goal of the game against his hometown team. Oskar Lindblom found an open Giroux in front of the net with a very nifty spin-around pass that had Anton Forsberg looking the other way.
Less than three minutes later, with an offensive zone shift that lasted well over a minute, the Flyers’ top line was feeling it with perfect crisp passes and plenty of shots to keep the Senators on their toes. Farabee was able to make a line change with the Flyers in the offensive zone for Lindblom, who fired a one timer from the point that was deflected by Thomas Chabot into his own net. Travis Konecny found Lindblom streaking into the zone coming off the bench and Oskar let it rip and got a fortuitous bounce off the Senator’s stick as Forsberg was moving the other way.
With the Flyers up two and up on the shot clock 12-0, the Senators were looking for anything to get them back into the game and they got that in the form of a retaliatory minor from Rasmus Ristolainen. It didn’t seem like anything too serious, but the Senators finally got some momentum, scoring chances, and even seven shots on goal in the final few minutes of the first frame.
SECOND PERIOD
With how well the Senators played to finish off the first period and with how low the Flyers sagged, the first few minutes of the second period were going to be paramount in terms of who controls the rest of the game. The Flyers’ end-of-period sag continued into the second period as the Senators cut the deficit in half, 2 minutes into the frame. Tim Stutzle made something out of nothing to get the momentum-hogging Senators on the board.
The former 2nd overall pick looked to have been defended well by Ristolainen, who kept him to the outside with his long reach but he found daylight on Martin Jones’ blocker side. The Senators kept pushing and even though they committed a penalty, they were the ones to score and tie the game up.
What should’ve been a moment to seize the momentum and possibly the game, the Flyers threw away their power play with some horrid passes, very messy entries, and plenty of turnovers. James van Riemsdyk missed completely on a pass that alluded his recipient, and it left the zone for Keith Yandle to chase, but he coughed it up to Drake Batherson who made no mistake on a breakaway and slipped it five hole on Jones.
The Flyers desperately needing a spark got one from Zack MacEwen as he dropped the gloves with Dillon Heatherington. It was a spirited bout for both heavyweights and the Flyers welcomed it with open arms. They looked a lot better right off the ensuing draw and started creating chances again. The Flyers had a chance to take the lead late in the period with a power play but couldn’t really find ways to get the puck on net. After a 12-0 lead in the shot chart, the Flyers only led by 9 at the end of 40 (30-21).
THIRD PERIOD
Instead of coming out firing and playing with a jolt, the Senators kept the Flyers in check and dominated the period. Halfway through the period, the Senators had an 8-2 shot edge, all the offensive zone time, and were by far the better team. The first ten minutes of the first period seemed like ages ago, considering how well the Flyers started this game. With a 2-0 lead and a 12-0 shot advantage, this is was not expected, especially considering their opponent’s struggles.
With pressure mounting and the shots coming from every which angle, Zach Sanford was robbed by Martin Jones in the slot off a beautiful feed by Dylan Gambrell to keep the game tied at 2 with 6:31 remaining. However, coming out of the commercial break, the Senators took the lead off a deflected goal by Artem Zub as he wired a slapshot that hit van Riemsdyk’s shin. The Flyers actually won the face-off, but Patrick Brown’s pass was picked off in the neutral zone and the Senators stormed the zone quickly and took the lead with a simple one timer from the point.
After losing their 2-0 lead late in the third period, Joel Farabee’s return couldn’t have come at a better time as his attempted pass to the slot was deflected by a Senator and beat Forsberg on a bad angle, 52 seconds after the deadlock was broken. Farabee was looking to find Sean Couturier in the slot but the puck hit Thomas Chabot’s skate and found its way past Forsberg. An eye for an eye.
The Flyers had a few chances at the end of the third period with a good shift by the top line as Konecny was buzzing after the hit he took from behind earlier in the period. However, their efforts were for nought as the Flyers found themselves heading to overtime for the second consecutive game.
OVERTIME
In overtime, Claude Giroux and Cam Atkinson had several chances thwarted by Forsberg and the defense. Giroux found Atkinson with a nifty saucer pass but Forsberg was there for the save and on the ensuing rebound, Giroux had a chance to tuck it home but was well defended.
It looked as if Giroux had needlessly turned the puck over as Chabot deflected a spin around pass but as he swung it around the boards, it hit glass and stayed in the zone as it funnily landed on Atkinson’s stick. Sanheim was in the right place at the right time as Atkinson found him streaking in the slot and he was able to lift it past Forsberg and give the Flyers a much needed victory.
Martin Jones stopped 28 of 31 shots thrown his way, the Flyers received goals from Claude Giroux, Oskar Lindblom, Joel Farabee, and Travis Sanheim, and assists from Cam Atkinson, Sean Couturier, and Ivan Provorov. Travis Konecny (2 assists) and Oskar Lindblom (1 goal and 1 assist) each had 2 points.
Anton Forsberg allowed 4 goals on 38 shots, and the Senators received goals from Tim Stutzle, Alex Formenton, and Artem Zub, with assists from Zach Sanford, Dylan Gambrell, Connor Brown, and Formenton. Thomas Chabot, who deflected 2 goals into his own net and turned the puck over on the game winning play, played a game high 35:39 and was a -3.
Up next for the Flyers are the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night in the first of two divisional matchups this coming week.
