Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Maybe it was the early start time but on a warm fall afternoon in Philadelphia, the Flyers came out stagnant. They did regroup in the second period, and tied the game in the third, but it wasn’t enough as the Ottawa Senators won 3-2 in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Orange and Black are now 4-2 when a game is not decided in regulation, with the other loss coming back on Oct. 11 against the Carolina Hurricanes. The goal by Tim Stützle at the left post 3 minutes, 18 seconds into overtime snapped the Flyers’ two-game winning streak and is their third loss in five games. They have now lost three in a row on home ice, after winning five straight in Philly. » READ MORE: The Flyers have proven to be ‘resilient’ so far this season, led by goalie Dan Vladař Battling back On Friday morning in Voorhees, after the Flyers battled back to beat the Nashville Predators, 3-1, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said, “We’re resilient. That’s important to build culture and identity, is to have resiliency. You’re not going to have your A game. Can you win on your B game or your C game? That takes resolve, and I saw that on this trip.” Well, the Flyers probably had their D game in the first period, putting four shots on goal with the first one not coming until almost the 10-minute mark. But, as Tocchet said, they’re resilient and they upped their grade across the final 40 minutes of regulation. The Flyers had 10 shots in the second, and eight more in the third. They dominated play, pinning Ottawa in their end several times. Jamie Drysdale tied the game in the third period with his second goal of the season. Off an offensive-zone face-off win by Christian Dvorak, Owen Tippett tapped the puck to Nick Seeler to set off a D-to-D pass to Drysdale. The fleet-of-foot skater avoided Nick Cousins, who wasn’t moving his feet, and carried the puck down the right boards and tried to feed Tippett but the puck went through to Seeler. The blueliner sent it over to Trevor Zegras, and he sent the shot toward the net with Dvorak in front, setting the screeen. It actually hit Dvorak who was battling with fellow centerman Lars Eller and bounced right to Drysdale who had skated around the net after the pass and was wide open for the goal. Matvei Michkov marvels Everyone has been saying it, and now the eye test is showing that Matvei Michkov’s game is picking up. The Russian winger got the Flyers on the board in the second period with a masterful shift. He sliced through the top of the crease as Dvorak’s shot was blocked and picked up the puck behind the net. With Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson on him — he actually knocked the puck away at one point — Michkov stuck with it and initiated contact to create space between himself and the rising American blueliner. Michkov then took the puck and curled in the right face-off circle and shot it from the slot, beating Linus Ullmark. The 20-year-old now has three goals on the season, with two coming in consecutive games. Ersson returns Sam Ersson got between the pipes for his first start since making 24 saves on Oct. 28 in a 3-2 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ersson tweaked something the next day before practice and went on injured reserve. He was activated on Thursday and was the backup goalie for Dan Vladař in Nashville. On Saturday, he did not get much help early on as the Flyers came out lackadaisical. Ottawa took a 1-0 lead 5 minutes, 14 seconds into the game on a goal by Stützle, sending a one-timer from the right face-off circle past Ersson. Stützle had time in the circle after Seeler hit him along the boards, but upon releasing him, he went to the center of the ice as two Flyers went to Ridly Greig, the son of Flyers amateur scout Mark Greig. It gave David Perron and Stützle all the time they needed. » READ MORE: Fresh off Nikita Grebenkin’s first NHL goal, his maturation continues: ‘He can be a really valuable part of this team’ Michael Amadio made it 2-0 just 65 seconds later as he walked straight down the center of the ice before sending a backhand shot past Ersson. There was a lot of puck watching and standing still on the play, notably by Zegras, who hung too close to Dvorak and Claude Giroux along the left point; Giroux was the one who fed Amadio. And Owen Tippett on the backcheck didn’t try to play Amadio either. Althoug it’s hard to blame Ersson when his defense collapses in front of him, the Swede settled down — thanks to his teammates. The goals came on the Senators second and third shots, and they didn’t get many more after that. Ersson faced five shots in the second period and one shot, from a bad angle by Dylan Cozens, with 1:26 left in regulation. Breakaway Forward Nic Deslauriers was a healthy scratch with Carl Grundström making his Flyers debut. He was acquired in the deal, along with defenseman Artem Guryev, from the San Jose Sharks for the Ryan Ellis contract and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft in early October. Skating with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, Grundström had three goals (two on the power play) and six points in 11 games. Up next The Flyers are scheduled to practice on Sunday and Tuesday before a Wednesday night showdown with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (7:30 p.m., NBCSP).
