Postgame Perspective: Flyers team play sets up late-game heroics

A late power play presented an opportunity for the Flyers in a stalemate of a game. The third period saw the Flyers and Washington Capitals trade goals.

The Flyers had to survive a penalty kill with seven minutes left in regulation before the opportunity was presented to them. When a second chance came up in overtime, the Flyers made sure not to waste it.

Jake Voracek scored the game-winning goal at 1:28 of overtime on a 4-on-3 power play to give the Flyers a 3-2 win over the Capitals, but it was the overall play of the Flyers before the overtime power play that really keyed the win.

"I thought we played a real good second period," head coach Craig Berube said. "We played a solid period all around – good defensively, did a good job checking. It was just a real good team out there."

"That's a big win," Steve Mason said. "This is a team that we're chasing. It's unfortunate that they got a point out of it, but we'll take the extra one. It was nice to get the break in overtime as well."

Voracek was the hero in overtime, but the Flyers third line could have been the difference during regulation. They accounted for the two goals in regulation – one by Sean Couturier and another by R.J. Umberger – and held Washington top line to two goals.

"I think we did a good job limiting their offense tonight," Couturier said. "We wanted to get a good forecheck going and play in their end most of the night. When you're in their end, you try to take advantage of it. I think tonight we created a lot of turnovers and we got a few bounces our way."

"Lately point-wise it's been a struggle, but you've got to stick with it," Voracek said. "Sometimes you're going to have a game when things still don't go you're way all the time. We didn't score many goals, but that was a huge one today."

The Flyers aren't an overly physical team, but Berube said the Flyers supplied the type of game he wants to see consistently.

"I thought they did tonight," Berube said. "There have been games where we are and games where we're not physical enough. On a consistent basis, we'd like to be a more physical team."

Perhaps the best thing about the Flyers win was the determination to erase a deficit twice. The Capitals entered the game with a 20-1-2 record when scoring first. So what the Flyers did was almost as unlikely as the shootout win on Tuesday.

The big thing about that for the Flyers is the positive nature a comeback like this brings. Washington scored early in the first and then had a lengthy review before it was confirmed they had a lead in the third. Following the review, the Flyers needed 1:14 to even the score.

"I like the mental state of the team right now," Berube said. "It's important to be positive and obviously stick with it. This time of year, you need to win close hockey games. It's a grind out there. Teams are all fighting for a spot. It's going to be tight hockey.

"I think right now, we're sticking with it, not getting down and being positive and that's what you have to do."

"When they scored that second goal, guys didn't panic," Couturier said. "They stuck to the game plan and bounced right back. That shows the character that we have. We've got to do that on a consistent basis."

GM Ron Hextall said the Flyers needed to create their own breaks. The penalty in overtime and Voracek's game-winner certainly could be defined as such.

"I always say it's the hardest power play to score on," Berube said of the 4-on-3. "Jake shot the puck, it went off their guy and went in the net. You shoot the puck, good things happen."

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.