Gaudreau, Blue Jackets Snap Streak Against Flyers

Entering Thursday night’s game, Carter Hart had made eight starts and in many of them, the Flyers relied on the netminder to bail them out after puck mismanagement and defensive breakdowns. Against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Hart could not save the Flyers this time.

Columbus jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second, and that was enough to hang on until two empty-net goals late sealed a 5-2 loss for the Flyers.

It didn’t take long for Columbus’ big free agent pickup to make an impact. Just 3:53 into the game, Johnny Gaudreau got the puck off a turnover and scored to make it a 1-0 game with his sixth goal of the season.

Gaudreau was also involved in the Blue Jackets’ second goal, setting up Zach Werenski for a goal to make it 2-0 at 12:03.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 12-9 Flyers, despite the deficit.

It took just 37 seconds into the second period for the Flyers to cough up the puck and create another golden opportunity for the Blue Jackets to score. Boone Jenner finished off the play, making it 3-0.

The Flyers did get on the board midway through the period. At 13:04, Tony DeAngelo put home a loose puck that got behind Joonas Korpisalo to cut the lead to two.

Through two periods, shots were 20-18 Columbus.

The Flyers made a push early in the third, and it eventually led to a goal at 8:41. Travis Konecny got the puck into the crease for a tip-in by Ivan Provorov, cutting the Columbus lead down to one.

In the final minutes, the Flyers’ rally fell short, as the Blue Jackets scored two goals into an empty net to seal the victory. Nick Blankenburg scored first with 1:39 remaining, then Jenner scored his second goal of the game with 19 seconds remaining.

Hart made 24 saves on 27 shots in his first regulation loss of the season. Korpisalo picked up his first win of the season in his second start, making 32 saves on 34 shots.

Gaudreau finished with three points. Jenner and Werenski had two points each. Provorov had two points for the Flyers.

The Flyers return to home ice for their next game, welcoming back Claude Giroux to Philadelphia as they face the Ottawa Senators at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• CBJ Johnny Gaudreau (6) (Zach Werenski) 3:53
• CBJ Werenski (3) (Gaudreau) 12:03

2nd Period

• CBJ Boone Jenner (3) (Patrik Laine, Gaudreau) 0:37
• PHI Tony DeAngelo (3) (Noah Cates, Ivan Provorov) 13:04

3rd Period

• PHI Provorov (1) (Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee) 8:41
• CBJ Nick Blankenburg (1) EN (Brendan Gaunce) 18:21
• CBJ Jenner (4) EN (Unassisted) 19:42