Through two periods against the Ottawa Senators, the Flyers were out-shot, 28-7. That is not a misprint. Forty minutes into the game, the Flyers had been completely dominated in the possession game, but somehow were locked in a tie game where it mattered.
Just when it appeared that the disparity in shots was catching up to them in the third, the Flyers managed a remarkable rally. Two quick goals tied the game and helped force overtime. Some big saves kept the game knotted when it mattered most. And in overtime, it was the rookie sensation who provided the fireworks.
Matvei Michkov scored from a sharp angle with 54.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Flyers a 5-4 win over the Senators on Thursday night.
The Flyers got on the board early, as Travis Sanheim scored his fourth of the season at 2:31 to make it a 1-0 game. The Senators answered back off a Flyers turnover at 6:02, with Brady Tkachuk scoring his ninth goal of the season.
Through 20 minutes, the Senators had a 14-3 lead in shots.
The Senators broke through to take the lead midway through the second on a power play. Drake Batherson fired home a one-timer for his seventh goal of the season to make it 2-1.
With less than two minutes to go in the period, the Flyers tied the game back up. Travis Konecny scored his ninth goal of the season on a breakaway to make it 2-2.
Ottawa took the lead again at 4:27 of the third. Josh Norris fired a shot through traffic that beat Ivan Fedotov to make it 3-2, his seventh of the season. At 10:05, Adam Gaudette added his seventh of the season on a backhand on a power play to make it 4-2.
That could have been the dagger for the Flyers, but they quickly responded to make it a one-goal game again. Anthony Richard put a shot on goal that leaked through Linus Ullmark to make it 4-3 at 10:42, just 37 seconds after Ottawa’s fourth goal. Just 2:03 later, Richard took the initial shot that Bobby Brink put home on a rebound to tie the game at four.
That forced overtime, where Michkov took care of the rest. Entering the final minute of overtime, Michkov got the puck along the goal line below the right circle and fired a shot that banked off Ullmark and went in to win the game. It was Michkov’s sixth goal of the season.
Fedotov made 33 saves on 37 shots in the win. Ullmark made 14 saves on 19 shots in the loss.
Sanheim had a goal and two assists for three points. Konecny, Brink, and Richard each had two points. Norris had a goal and an assist. Thomas Chabot and Ridly Greig each had two assists.
The Flyers return home on Saturday night to start a five-game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T | |
| Flyers | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Senators | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Travis Sanheim (4) (Emil Andrae, Garnet Hathaway) 2:31
- OTT Brady Tkachuk (9) (Josh Norris, Travis Hamonic) 6:02
2nd Period
- OTT Drake Batherson (7) PP (Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson) 8:41
- PHI Travis Konecny (9) (Noah Cates, Nick Seeler) 18:48
3rd Period
- OTT Norris (7) (Thomas Chabot, Ridly Greig) 4:27
- OTT Adam Gaudette (7) PP (Chabot, Greig) 10:05
- PHI Anthony Richard (2) (Bobby Brink, Egor Zamula) 10:42
- PHI Brink (3) (Richard, Sanheim) 12:45
Overtime
- PHI Matvei Michkov (6) (Konecny, Sanheim) 4:05
Game Statistics
| Flyers | Senators | |
| Shots | 19 | 37 |
| Power Play | 0/2 | 2/6 |
| Hits | 20 | 23 |
| Faceoff % | 38.6% | 61.4% |
| Giveaways | 18 | 6 |
| Takeaways | 8 | 9 |
| Blocked Shots | 30 | 14 |
| Penalty Minutes | 12 | 4 |
