Flyers take another OT loss in a whacky, unpredictable, animosity-filled game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers were pugnacious and persistent Thursday night in Ottawa, Ontario.
But they were not nearly productive enough to leave with a win.
In a game that featured three fights, 74 penalty minutes and all kinds of animosity, the Flyers took a 5-4 overtime loss to the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
Despite rallying from a three-goal deficit in the third period to force the bonus session, the Flyers finished the night with a season-low 11 shots.
They dropped to 1-12 in OT when Alex DeBrincat jumped on a turnover for the game-winner.
Tony DeAngelo, Cam York, Noah Cates and Owen Tippett scored goals for the Flyers (29-32-13), who somehow found a way to keep their season-best point streak alive. They extended it to seven games (5-0-2) but saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.
After Claude Giroux padded Ottawa’s lead to 4-1 early in the third period, York, Cates and Tippett answered over a span of just under 12 minutes.
Rasmus Ristolainen hit the post 13 seconds into overtime before DeBrincat finished off the Flyers.
For the purpose of evaluation, head coach John Tortorella watched the game from the visiting management booth alongside interim general manager Danny Briere. Associate coach Brad Shaw led the Flyers behind the bench.
The Flyers went 1-1-1 against the Senators (37-33-5) in their three-game regular-season series.
Ottawa played like a team making a desperate push for the playoffs. It’s five points out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot with seven games left.
• The game turned physical and contentious in the second period. Seventy of the 74 penalty minutes occurred in the middle stanza.
Nicolas Deslauriers fought twice. He got the best of Austin Watson in convincing fashion. Right after the bout, Mark Kastelic decided to drop the gloves with Deslauriers. Officials tried to prevent it.
Joel Farabee and DeBrincat led off the fight card. Farabee took some good punches but hung in there. The 23-year-old has fought nine times in his NHL career.
The Flyers showed fight, but they needed to play much better. They were outshot 27-5 through two periods. It felt like they were very fortunate to score four goals and surrender only five.
• With Carter Hart nursing a lower-body injury, Felix Sandstrom made his second straight start. The 26-year-old absolutely battled, facing 46 shots and stopping 41 of them.
But one of his few blemishes was his biggest and most costly. Sandstrom made a mistake playing the puck out of his net on DeBrincat’s winner.
Senators netminder Cam Talbot had to make only seven saves for the win.
• Giroux beat Sandstrom on a pretty shot for his 29th goal of the season. The 35-year-old has 72 points through 75 games in Year 1 with Ottawa.
The all-time great Flyer put up two goals and three assists in the three games against his old club.
• York was a positive for the Flyers. The 22-year-old defenseman absorbed a heavy hit from Watson along the back boards during the second period but stayed in the game, played 20:39 minutes and finished with a two-point night (one goal, one assist).
DeAngelo also recorded two points. He had a power play marker and assisted Cates’ power play goal.
• Former Flyer Derick Brassard suffered what appeared to be an injury to his right leg right before the Senators made it 3-1 with 3:10 minutes left in the second period.
• Up next for the Flyers is a back-to-back set. The club hosts the Sabers on Saturday (7 pm ET/NBCSP) and visits the Penguins on Sunday (6 pm ET/NBCSP+).
Subscribe to and rate Flyers Talk
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | YouTube