Flyers Late Rally Not Enough in Loss to Senators

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It was almost midway through the third period that the Flyers thought they were facing a one-goal deficit with the momentum tilted in their favor. And quickly, an overturned call turned the game the other way.

The Flyers fell behind early, only to rally back twice to get the margin to one, but had a pair of close calls go against them in a 5-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

The Flyers fell behind early after Brandon Manning took a slashing penalty seconds into the game. A long-range point shot by Dion Phaneuf sailed to the goal and beat a screened Michal Neuvirth for the game's first goal at 1:31.

The Senators poured it on the Flyers in the first period. A strong shift coupled with a defensive breakdown led to another goal, as Mark Borowiecki attempted a pass to the side of the net that hit Travis Sanheim's stick and went into the Flyers goal to make it 2-0 at 9:50. 

With the Flyers on the power play less than four minutes later, Erik Karlsson created a neutral zone turnover and waited for help as Jean-Gabriel Pageau entered the zone, went to the slot and snapped one past Neuvirth for a shorthanded goal to make it 3-0 Ottawa at 13:28.

The Flyers trailed by the three-goal deficit after 20 minutes, despite outshooting the Senators, 13-12, in the period.

The Senators went on lockdown from there, leaving the Flyers with little room to operate in the second period. But at 14:30, the Flyers were finally able to break through.

Jake Voracek finally picked up his first goal of the season on a strange play, throwing the puck in front from behind the goal line. The attempt hit off of Phaneuf and by Craig Anderson to get the Flyers on the board.

Just 53 seconds later, a nice lead pass from Radko Gudas sent Travis Konecny in on a breakaway and he scored to cut the lead to one, putting the Flyers right back in the game.

But Ottawa got the two-goal lead back late in the period. Karlsson led Ryan Dzingel with a tremendous pass from his own zone and into the offensive zone. Dzingel was alone and waited for help. He got it in the form of Mark Stone, who stopped in front of the net, spun and backhanded a shot by Neuvirth to restore the two-goal margin with his sixth goal of the season.

The Flyers had outshot the Senators, 25-21, through two periods, but trailed by two on the board entering the final 20 minutes of play.

The Flyers came out in the third with energy and were generating chances. Nearing the midpoint of the period, one of those finally found the net.

A point shot by Manning went through a screen and beat Anderson to cut the lead back to one. But Ottawa challenged for goalie interference and the goal was overturned. Moments later, Ottawa got a two-on-one the other way and Tom Pyatt scored off the rush, extending the lead to three and essentially icing the game.

Things got heated from there. The Flyers, clearly frustrated with the overturned call that led to a two-goal swing, started a parade to the penalty box.

Radko Gudas put a heavy hit on Chris Wideman into the boards that started a scrum. Gudas got a five-minute major for charging and game misconduct. Borowiecki, who jumped in with Gudas, got a roughing penalty. More penalties followed, and the teams even skated at 3-on-3 for a few seconds.

The Flyers did add another goal. While at 4-on-4, Ivan Provorov blasted a shot by Anderson for his second of the season to cut the lead to two.

And then they added another. Sean Couturier deflected a shot past Anderson to cut the lead to one with 1:44 to go for his seventh goal of the season.

In the final minute, another call went against the Flyers, just when they thought they may have tied it up. Couturier attempted to tuck the puck in from the short side along the goal line. On replay, it looked like the puck crossed the line while in Anderson's glove, which would be a goal. But the officials called the play "complete" and deemed it no goal.

The Senators one-goal lead held up for the final 49 seconds from there, handing the Flyers another devastating loss.

The Flyers outshot the Senators, 40-28, for the game.

The Flyers return to action on Saturday, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• OTT Dion Phaneuf (3) PP (Filip Chlapik, Chris DiDomenico) 1:31
• OTT Mark Borowiecki (1) (Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau) 9:50
• OTT Pageau (1) SH (Erik Karlsson) 13:28

2nd Period

• PHI Jake Voracek (1) (Sean Couturier, Ivan Provorov) 14:30
• PHI Travis Konecny (2) (Radko Gudas) 15:23
• OTT Mark Stone (6) (Ryan Dzingel, Karlsson) 17:37

3rd Period

• OTT Tom Pyatt (2) (Nate Thompson, Pageau) 10:33
• PHI Ivan Provorov (2) (Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier) 15:18
• PHI Couturier (7) (Shayne Gostisbehere, Voracek) 18:14

Game Statistics