Flyers Rally Back, Fall in OT to Senators

Goaltending has often been the star of the show for the Flyers this season, helping keep them competitive in games. Felix Sandstrom certainly did his part on Thursday night in Ottawa.

As the Flyers faced a shot deficit of 46-11 for the game, Sandstrom allowed the Flyers to stay within striking distance and eventually complete a comeback that forced overtime. But a costly mistake by the netminder in overtime put an end to the game in the Senators favor.

Alex DeBrincat scored off a turnover by Sandstrom in overtime to hand the Flyers a 5-4 loss and snap their winning streak at four games.

The Senators got on the board first at 10:58 as Austin Watson threw a shot on goal that got through the pads of Sandstrom to make it 1-0. 

Through 20 minutes, shots were 17-2 Ottawa.

Just 2:51 into the second, the Flyers third shot of the game found the net. Tony DeAngelo scored his 11th goal of the season on the power play to make it a 1-1 game.

The Senators got the lead back at 7:43. Tim Stutzle was in front of the net to pick up a rebound for his 37th goal of the season to make it 2-1.

On a power play late in the period, the Senators extended the lead as Shane Pinto scored his 20th goal of the season, batting in an airborne puck off the stick of Mathieu Joseph to make it 3-1.

During a physical second period that featured two fights and game misconducts to Nick Deslauriers and Mark Kastelic, the Flyers trailed in shots, 27-5, through two periods.

Just 2:28 into the third, the Senators extended the lead to three. Claude Giroux scored his 29th goal of the season, beating his former team to make it a 4-1 game.

That’s when the comeback started for the Flyers. First, Cam York scored his second goal of the season at 5:22. Noah Cates had a Rasmus Ristolainen shot go in off his body at 9:54 for a power-play goal to cut the lead to one. With 2:39 remaining in the third, Travis Sanheim set up Owen Tippett for the game-tying goal, his 23rd of the season. 

That forced overtime, where the Flyers had a chance to win the game early. Ristolainen hit the post off a rush that continued the extra session. The Senators went the other way, trying a stretch pass that eluded Giroux and went to Sandstrom behind the net. Sandstrom tried to reverse the puck and turned it over to DeBrincat, who came out the other side and scored to seal the result.

Sandstrom made 41 saves on 46 shots in the loss. Cam Talbot made seven saves on 11 shots in the win.

York and DeAngelo had two points each for the Flyers. Stutzle had two points for the Senators.

The Flyers are back on home ice on Saturday night, taking on the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. 

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• OTT Austin Watson (9) (Unassisted) 10:58

2nd Period

• PHI Tony DeAngelo (11) PP (Cam York, Kevin Hayes) 2:51
• OTT Tim Stutzle (37) (Brady Tkachuk, Nick Holden) 7:43
• OTT Shane Pinto (20) (Mathieu Joseph) 16:50

3rd Period

• OTT Claude Giroux (29) (Stutzle, Tyler Kleven) 2:28
• PHI York (2) (Unassisted) 5:22
• PHI Noah Cates (12) PP (Rasmus Ristolainen, DeAngelo) 9:54
• PHI Owen Tippett (23) (Travis Sanheim, Morgan Frost) 17:21

Overtime

• OTT Alex DeBrincat (25) (Unassisted) 1:36

Game Statistics