Writer: Kevin Durso
Giroux caps Flyers comeback with OT winner to beat Stars
It took five games, but the Flyers finally have their first win. But it certainly wasn't easy.
The Flyers scored three goals in the third period to force overtime. Claude Giroux scored on the power play in overtime to give the Flyers a 6-5 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
The Stars struck for the game's first goal at 11:32 of the first. Trevor Daley was on the receiving end of some great passing as a power-play goal, his second of the season, gave the Stars the lead.
The Flyers would strike back for two goals in the first. Sean Couturier jumped on a rebound at 13:16 to even the score. Less than two minutes later, Brayden Schenn scored on a rebound after Luke Schenn threw one at the net to give the Flyers the lead.
Erik Cole scored the equalizer for the Stars at 2:46 of the second.
The remainder of the second period was a strong battle between the two teams before a too-many-men on the ice penalty caused the Flyers to unravel late in the period.
Just the second penalty for the Flyers, also a too-many-men penalty, Daley was the lone man in front again to score his second goal of the game. Just 56 seconds later, Tyler Seguin threaded a pass to Jamie Benn to put the Stars up two through two periods.
Steve Mason allowed four goals on 18 shots. Ray Emery was in net to start the third.
With the Stars on their heels for much of the period, the Flyers fired at will. They cut the lead to one with a power-play goal by Andrew MacDonald at 8:32. It was MacDonald's first regular-season goal with the Flyers.
The Flyers would tie the game with 5:46 to play as Jake Voracek put a rebound past Kari Lehtonen. But just 40 seconds later, Jason Spezza tipped a shot past Emery to put the Stars back in front.
Again, the Flyers managed the equalizer less than two minutes later, as Michael Raffl threw a pass in front and it hit off Daley's skate and into the net.
With just seconds remaining in the third, Jamie Benn took a face-off violation penalty, placing his hand over the puck. The Flyers opened overtime with 1:57 of power-play time. They did not score on that, but went back on the man-advantage as Brayden Schenn was tripped in front after a strange bounce put the puck on his stick in front of an open net.
On the power play again, the Flyers finished things off as Mark Streit set Giroux up for a one-timer to beat Lehtonen and give the Flyers their first win of the season.
Giroux, Streit and MacDonald finished with two points each. Voracek led the Flyers with three points, assisting on Raffl's game-tying goal and Giroux's winner.
Emery made four of the five shots he faced.
The Flyers return to the ice on Tuesday night in Chicago against the Blackhawks. The opening face-off is set for 8:30 p.m.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.