Coming home from a productive three-game road trip, the Flyers earned a 4-3 shootout victory over the Capitals on Thursday night.
Sean Couturier and Bobby Brink scored points in the skills competition at the Wells Fargo Center.
Brink deftly maneuvered around Charlie Lindgren as the Washington goalkeeper tried to stop his move. The rookie winger said Samuel Ersson often does that to him in practice.
“I told him he learned how to twitch the goalie,” the Flyers goaltender said with a laugh. “He knows I do this. I take part of the credit for that.”
After collecting five of a possible six points on the road trip, the Flyers improved to 3-0 in the shootout.
The Flyers (16-10-3) have scored at least one point in eight of their last nine games (6-1-2). Six of the last nine games went beyond regulation rules.
Since the loss to the previously winless Sharks, John Tortorella's club is 11-3-2. The Flyers' 24 points are the most in the NHL during that period (November 10 to date).
“I've been in the league for 13 years and this is one of, if not the most exceptional group I've ever been a part of,” Cam Atkinson said.
Brink, Joel Farabee and Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers in the regular season on Thursday night.
Just under three minutes before the end of the game, Tippett made it 3-3 with a long-range shot.
At the start of the third period, Farabee and the Flyers even managed a 2-2 draw. All 11 of Farabee's goals came at even strength, giving him a tie for the team lead with Travis Konecny.
“That was a big goal back then. He gave it his all,” Tortorella said. “He loses ice time if I don’t have him on the power play. I don't use it to take penalties. I tried to get him on the ice more at 5v5 this evening. I'm sure he wants to be on one of those special teams, but he kept his mouth shut and just played.”
Farabee said he was frustrated with his first two periods Thursday night. Atkinson, his linemate, told him to stick with it.
“He literally said let’s just control what we can control and we went out and scored,” Farabee said. “I feel like last year I really spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and wishing things would go one way. While this year I feel like I know exactly what Torts wants from me and what he needs from me. “I really try to go out there every night and give the team what I can.”
Morgan Frost recorded two assists.
Brink gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the middle stanza, but Connor McMichael countered for Washington just 46 seconds later.
The first of three duels between the Flyers and the Capitals took place on Thursday evening (14-8-4).
The Flyers extended their point streak to seven games with a shootout win over the Capitals on Thursday night.
• The Flyers were without Carter Hart, who missed the game due to illness.
As a result, Ersson enjoyed his second straight start and recorded 27 saves. TJ Oshie scored in the shootout, but Ersson finished the job.
The 24-year-old rejected Alex Ovechkin in overtime.
“He’s getting better and better,” Tortorella said. “We made some crucial saves at crucial moments. Our goalkeeper was good. That gave us a chance every night here for a while.”
Dylan Strome brought Ersson to a 2-2 tie with 10:55 left in the third period. Ersson prepared for a shot from Aliaksei Protas. However, Protas broke his stick while taking the shot, sending the puck straight to Strome on his doorstep.
Ersson made an excellent save from former flyer Nicolas Aube-Kubel and secured the game 1-1 with 8:06 minutes left in the second period.
But Washington's power play struck about three and a half minutes later when Tom Wilson gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Felix Sandstrom was called up from the AHL's Lehigh Valley affiliate under emergency conditions to back up Ersson.
Louie Belpedio was loaned to the Phantoms. The 27-year-old defenseman cleared waivers nine days ago but remained with the big club for the three-game road trip.
Lindgren stopped 29 of the Flyers' 32 shots.
John Tortorella spoke to the media after his team's 4-3 shootout win over the Capitals.
• The Flyers' power play finished 0 for 5.
McMichael was called for a highly questionable hooking penalty that left the Flyers 5-on-3 for 45 seconds at the end of the second period and the start of the third period.
But the Flyers came away empty-handed. They are 10 for 92 on the power play this season. Their penalty kill is just three fewer goals at seven.
• The Flyers held Ovechkin scoreless.
The future Hall of Famer ranks second on the NHL's all-time goals list with 827 goals, behind only Wayne Gretzky, who has 894.
“I think he’s the greatest scorer of all time,” Garnet Hathaway, Ovechkin’s former teammate, said before the game. “It insulates more than anything else. He’s going to get shots through, so you can try to block as many as you can, but you have to rely a lot on your goalie.”
The Capitals are no longer the same offensive giant they were in years past. They scored the third-fewest goals per game (2.48) and the last-place power play (8.2 percent) in the NHL.
But they are a tightly controlling team and don't mind close games.
“Washington played well, they tested well,” Tortorella said. “It's a completely different team at the moment. It's not a highly offensive team. They have three players in the neutral zone that they have to cross and it was difficult to get through there.”
• Marc Staal came into the lineup for Egor Zamula and scored his first point as a Flyer when he assisted on Brink's goal.
• The Flyers are scheduled to practice in Voorhees, New Jersey, at noon ET on Friday before hosting the Red Wings on Saturday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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