Couturier Beats Price in OT to Give Flyers Win Over Canadiens

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It was starting to feel like a game the Flyers would regret letting slip away. For the better part of the final 50 minutes, the Flyers had dominated the Montreal Canadiens, only to be tied on the scoreboard where it counts thanks in large part to Carey Price.

The Flyers had the only shot in the 55 seconds of overtime. It was a shot by Sean Couturier that leaked through Price and crawled across the goal line to give the Flyers the 3-2 overtime win over the Canadiens on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.

For the early part of the first period, Montreal controlled play, generating more possession and offensive zone time. Scoring chances for both sides were limited.

During the second half of the period, the Flyers really turned up the level of play and started to generate more chances. One of those shots managed to find its way through a screen.

Phil Myers took a shot from the blue line that deflected off Shea Weber and beat a screened Price to give the Flyers the lead at 13:51.

For the rest of the period, the Flyers kept the pressure on, dominating Montreal for the rest of the period. Through 20 minutes, the Flyers had an 18-12 lead in shots.

The Flyers continued the relentless pressure right at the start of the second period. Just seconds after a power play, the Flyers got a goal as James van Riemsdyk put home a rebound to make it 2-0 just 49 seconds into the period.

Through the first 13 minutes of the second period, the Flyers outshot the Canadiens, 15-1, aided by two additional power-play chances. Price kept Montreal in the game, and it allowed the Canadiens to eventually close the gap with one scoring chance.

Phillip Danault entered the Flyers zone by making a move on Jake Voracek. He got the puck to Nick Cousins for a shot that Carter Hart stopped, but left a big rebound for Ben Chiarot, who scored to make it 2-1 with 6:16 left in the period.

Through two periods, the Flyers led in shots, 34-19.

Early in the third, the Canadiens were able to cash in on another scoring chance and even the game back up. Hart tried to pass from behind the net to Ivan Provorov, but whiffed on the attempt. The puck made it to Provorov, but he was marked and lost the puck. A pass from Jonathan Drouin went out to Weber in the high slot and he fired a perfect shot over Hart to tie the game at two at 4:05.

The Flyers got two more power-play chances in the period and failed to capitalize on both, two more big missed opportunities by the wayside. Carsen Twarynski was also awarded a penalty shot after being hooked on a breakaway. He was also stopped by Price.

The game went to overtime, and the Flyers made quick work of that. Holding possession the entire way, Couturier beat Price with a shot from the slot that leaked through to win the game.

Hart made 22 saves in the win. Price stopped 40 of 43 in the loss.

The win for the Flyers marked three in their last four games. They have earned points in the standings in each of the last four games.

The Flyers return to the ice on Saturday for the start of a weekend back-to-back on the road. They next face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Phil Myers (1) (Unassisted) 13:51

2nd Period

• PHI James van Riemsdyk (4) (Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux) 0:49
• MTL Ben Chiarot (3) (Nick Cousins, Phillip Danault) 13:44

3rd Period

• MTL Shea Weber (3) (Jonathan Drouin) 4:05

Overtime

• PHI Sean Couturier (5) (Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov) 0:55

Game Statistics