With rally and OT win, Flyers' process hits 5-game point streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers extended their season-best point streak to five games by rallying to beat the Senators, 4-3, in overtime Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Cam Atkinson jumped on a friendly bounce off the boards and fed Travis Sanheim for the OT winner.
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With five and a half minutes left during the third period, Joel Farabee scored the game-tying goal in his return to the lineup. Claude Giroux and Oskar Lindblom also netted markers.
The Flyers (12-12-5) are 4-0-1 in their last five games and 4-2-1 under interim head coach Mike Yeo.
While Farabee was back from his shoulder injury, the Flyers didn't have Carter Hart (undetermined illness) or Max Willman (COVID protocol). Morgan Frost (COVID protocol) and Derick Brassard (hip) also remained out.
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The Senators (9-17-2) are 5-2-1 in their last eight games, a stretch that includes wins over the Lightning, Panthers, Hurricanes and Avalanche.
Ottawa made the Flyers work for this one.
• The Flyers didn't panic or press when they fell down 3-2 with 6:17 minutes remaining in regulation.
That was a real positive for a team that fought its confidence mightily during a 10-game losing streak. The Flyers are starting to sew together positive sequences, responses and games.
The Flyers responded to the deficit and also to the disappointing 3-2 shootout loss in Montreal two days ago.
They'll need to keep building on this five-game segment as the calendar nears 2022.
• With the game-opening goal in the first period, Giroux tied Bill Barber for second on the Flyers' all-time scoring list at 883 points. Franchise icon Bob Clarke leads the way with 1,210.
"I think in life, you try to put goals out there even if they're hard to achieve," Giroux said in April last season. "Bobby Clarke had an amazing career, Hall of Famer — that's a lot of points to get there."
Giroux is the city's longest-tenured active athlete. He made his NHL debut with the Flyers before the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. The captain turns 34 years old in January and is on the final year of his eight-year, $66.2 million contract. Being in Philly matters to him and he has been one of the team's best players so far this season.
We'll see where things go for his future, but Giroux is truly an all-time great Flyer.
• Ottawa quickly took the crowd out of the game during the second period by erasing the Flyers' 2-0 lead within the opening three and a half minutes of the frame.
Tim Stützle made it 2-1 before Alex Formenton put a shorthanded marker on the Flyers, who lost all their momentum from a first period in which they completely controlled play.
To reenergize the crowd, Zack MacEwen dropped the gloves with Dillon Heatherington about halfway through the middle stanza. The 25-year-old is a free swinger when he fights and the fans sure enjoyed that style.
• Three days ago, Yeo was extolling Lindblom for his lineup versatility. The Swedish winger has seen time on the first, second and fourth lines recently.
With Lindblom's hockey intelligence, the Flyers believe they can trust him in grittier, defensive-zone situations. But the club also feels he possesses a top-six skill set, so when it needs him to scale the lineup, he can.
"He's been a real valuable player," Yeo said Wednesday. "He's been on different lines, but he does the same job."
Lindblom had his top-six game on display Saturday. He assisted Giroux's goal with a nifty feed from behind the net and scored his own goal a little over three minutes later as the Flyers seized their 2-0 lead.
After Lindblom's tough start from a production standpoint (no goals in his first 21 games), the 25-year-old has a pair of two-point performances in his last games. His depth production can be huge for a Flyers team that still needs goals.
• It didn't look like Martin Jones ever saw the puck on the Senators' go-ahead third-period goal. There was a ton of traffic in front and Artem Zub was credited with the goal as his shot from outside found its way past the Flyers' backup goalie.
Jones finished with 28 saves on 31 shots to improve to 5-4-1.
Ottawa netminder Anton Forsberg faced 38 shots from the Flyers and stopped 34 of them.
• Ivan Provorov played in his 400th consecutive game since entering the league as a 19-year-old.
He had an assist in 26:25 minutes Saturday night.
• The Flyers have two more scheduled games before the NHL-mandated three-day holiday break: Tuesday at home against the Capitals (7 p.m. ET/ESPN+, Hulu) and Thursday on the road against the Penguins (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).
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