Returning home from a productive three-game road trip, the Flyers earned a 4-3 shootout win Thursday night over the Capitals.
Sean Couturier and Bobby Brink score in the skills competition at the Wells Fargo Center.
Brink deftly maneuvered around Charlie Lindgren as the Washington goalkeeper tried to break up his move. The rookie winger said Samuel Ersson does that to him often in practice.
“I told him he learned the goalie twitch,” the Flyers goaltender said with a laugh. “He knows this is what I do. I take some of the credit for it.”
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 at least a point in eight of their last nine games (6-1-2). Six of their last nine games have gone beyond regulation.
Since losing to the previously winless Sharks, John Tortorella’s team 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, special groups I’ve ever been a part of,” Cam Atkinson said.
Brink, Joel Farabee and Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers in regulation Thursday night.
With less than three minutes remaining, Tippett hit a shot from long range to tie the game at 3-3.
Earlier in the third period, Farabee tied the game with the Flyers, 2-2. All of Farabee’s 11 goals were tied, tying him with Travis Konecny for the team lead.
“The goal was big at the time. He was getting away,” Tortorella said. “He loses ice time when I don’t have him on the power play, I don’t have him on the penalty kill, and I tried to get him on the ice more 5-on-5 tonight. I’m sure he wants to be that way.” “On one of those special teams, but he kept his mouth shut and just played.”
Farabee said he was frustrated with his first two sessions Thursday night. Atkinson, his colleague, asked him to stick with it.
“He literally said let’s control what we can control and we went out there and scored a goal,” Farabee said. “I feel like, for me, last year, I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, and wishing things would go one way. This year, I feel like I know exactly what Torts expects and what he needs from me.” I’m a player. “I really try to come out every night and give everything I can for the team.”
Morgan Frost had two assists.
Brink gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the middle stanza, but Connor McMichael made the save for Washington just 46 seconds later.
Thursday night marked the first of the Flyers’ three matchups with the Capitals (14-8-4).
The Flyers extended their points streak to seven games with Thursday night’s shootout win over the Capitals.
• The Flyers played without Carter Hart, who missed the game due to illness.
As a result, Erson made his second straight start and recorded 27 saves. TJ Oshie scored in the shootout but Ersson finished the job.
The 24-year-old shut out Alex Ovechkin in overtime.
“He just keeps getting better,” Tortorella said. “We made some crucial saves at crucial times for us. Our scoring was good. He gave us a chance every night for a long time here.”
Dylan Strome got to Ersson in the third period to tie the game 2-2 with 10:55 left in the game. Ersson was preparing for a shot from Alexi Protas. However, Protas broke his stick during the shot, sending the puck straight to Strome at the doorstep.
Ersson made an excellent save on former jumper Nicolas Obi Kupil to keep the game 1-1 with 8:06 left in the second period.
But Washington’s power play came about three and a half minutes later as Tom Wilson gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
Felix Sandstrom of AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley was called up under emergency circumstances to back up Ersson.
Louie Belpedio has been loaned to the Phantoms. The 27-year-old defenseman claimed waivers nine days ago but remained with the big club for a 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 is 0-for-5.
McMichael was called for a highly questionable penalty, which gave the Flyers a 5-on-3 lead for 45 seconds at the end of the second period and the start of the third.
But the planes came up empty. They are 10-for-92 on the power play this season. The penalty killer has only three goals with seven.
• The Flyers held Ovechkin scoreless.
The future Hall of Famer sits second on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 827, behind only Wayne Gretzky’s 894.
“I think he’s the best scorer ever,” Ovechkin’s former teammate, Garnet Hathaway, said before the game. “There’s more to it than anything else. He’ll pass shots, so you can try to block as many of them as you can, but you have to rely on your goalkeeper a lot.”
The Capitals are not the same offensive juggernaut from years past. They came in with the third-fewest goals per game in the NHL (2.48) and the final power play (8.2 percent).
But they are a tight team and don’t mind close games.
“Washington played well, they screened the game well,” Tortorella said. “It’s kind of a different team right now. It’s not a high-flying team. They have three players in that neutral zone to cross and it was difficult to cross from there.”
• Marc Staal joined the lineup in favor of Igor Zamula and earned his first point as a Flyer when he assisted Brink on the goal.
• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Friday at noon ET in Voorhees, New Jersey before hosting the Red Wings on Saturday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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