PHILADELPHIA — For much of this season, the Flyers' struggles in the second period have been well-documented.
They've played sloppily, they've turned the puck over, they've taken dumb penalties and they've been shaky. More often than not, it's come back to bite them in the rear, and ultimately cost them the game.
But on Thursday, the Flyers countered with their strongest second-period effort of the season, scoring a season-high four goals in the middle 20 minutes en route to a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres to snap a three-game losing streak. Though they took three penalties, their penalty-kill units held steady to keep the Sabres (21-28-6) off the scoresheet.
R.J. Umberger started the rally just 1:23 into the period for his first goal of the season, snapping a 71-game goalless drought. Brayden Schenn countered 48 seconds later, giving the Flyers (24-20-9) a 2-0 lead.
With a goal at 8:33 of the stanza, Wayne Simmonds recorded his 20th goal of the season — his third-consecutive 20-goal season, and fourth in five seasons as a Flyer. Michael Raffl's goal with 5:03 left capped the period, and sent the Orange and Black to the dressing room with a hefty 4-0 lead.
No assists were initially awarded on Simmonds' goal, but upon further review, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jakub Voracek were credited with assists. As a result, Gostisbehere's points streak has extended to 10 games now — tying the franchise record for rookies set by Mikael Renberg in 1993-94.
Gostisbehere wasn't the only rookie in the lineup to impact the game for the Flyers, as Nick Cousins scored his first-career goal on a breakaway at 10:33 of the third period. Cousins had previously been penciled in to replace Sean Couturier's void on the second line.
Jamie McGinn scored at 10:04 of the third stanza to finally put the Sabres on the board, but it was too little, too late. Cousins scored just 29 seconds later, and put the game out of reach.
In his sixth-consecutive start, Steve Mason continued his stellar play, saving 41 of 42 shots. Robin Lehner was shaky, saving 23 of 28 pucks.
The Flyers were playing recklessly through the first 40 minutes of the game, as they combined for six penalties. They — with the exception of Radko Gudas, who dropped the gloves twice — stayed out of the box for the rest of the third, and held the Sabres to an 0-for-6 night on the man advantage.
With 57 points now, the Orange and Black move up to four points behind Pittsburgh now for the second wild-card spot. They next play host to New Jersey on Saturday afternoon to wrap up a three-game homestand.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
