Flyers beat Senators, pick up 3rd straight win

The Flyers last trip to Ottawa resulted in a 4-0 shutout loss as their November freefall continued.

Coming into Tuesday's night return trip to Ottawa, the Flyers had closed November with wins in three of their last four games and looking to build on recent momentum.

They did just that, fighting their way to a 4-2 win over the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

The Flyers opened the scoring at 14:27 of the first. Claude Giroux made a nice pass to the top of the right face-off circle where Shayne Gostisbehere took over and fired a wrist shot past Craig Anderson for the game's first goal.

Just under three minutes later, the Senators tied the game off a Flyers turnover. Evgeny Medvedev attempted an end-around clear that was kept in the zone by Cody Ceci. Ceci centered to Zack Smith who quickly shot the puck on goal and beat Steve Mason to even the score.

The score was tied, 1-1, after one with Ottawa holding an 8-7 lead in shots.

Early in the second, Medvedev managed to atone for his earlier turnover. In the closing seconds of a power play, Medvedev called for the puck from Sean Couturier, who set him up perfectly at the top of the right circle. Medvedev wasted no time putting the puck on goal and in for his first NHL goal.

Just 1:06 later, a miscommunication and turnover in the neutral zone allowed the Senators to tie things up again. The Senators were able to form a 3-on-1 after the puck was pushed past Michael Del Zotto at the Flyers blue line. Bobby Ryan centered for Mike Hoffman, who scored his 11th of the season to even the score.

The Senators appeared to take a 3-2 lead with 4:29 to go in the second, but Ryan had deflected the puck in with a high stick, nullifying the goal. Moments later, with 3:25 to play, Wayne Simmonds charged up the left wing and picked up his own rebound to give the Flyers the lead.

The Flyers outshot the Senators, 18-5, in the second period and carried a one-goal lead to the third.

In the third, the Flyers survived a flurry from the Senators before icing the game with an empty-net goal from Couturier. It was a three-point night for Couturier.

Mason made 23 saves on 25 Ottawa shots to pick up his fifth win of the season. The Flyers four-goal effort was their first in 18 games. The three-game win streak is the first for the Flyers since a four-game winning streak last season to close out January.

The Flyers return to action on Friday night when they take on the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.

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