Couturier’s OT Winner Caps Flyers Comeback Win Over Toronto

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The sell-out crowd at Wells Fargo Center was already buzzing from the night's ceremonies for Eric Lindros' jersey retirement. The Flyers leading goal scorer this season made sure they had a reason to go home happy too.

Sean Couturier scored off a two-on-one 18 seconds into overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

The two teams skated to a scoreless first period that moved quickly. Both goaltenders had to be solid at times to keep the opposition off the board, but chances were fairly limited.

The Flyers got a power play late in the period, but failed to score. Shots after 20 minutes were 9-8 Flyers.

The Maple Leafs opened up the second period with an early power play, but the Flyers used a strong penalty kill to keep the game scoreless.

There was still no score as the game reached the halfway point, but shortly after, Toronto would break the ice and put the Flyers in a hole quickly.

Zach Hyman backhanded the puck off the side boards and past the outstretch stick of Shayne Gostisbehere. The bank pass sent Connor Brown in on a breakaway, and he managed to squeeze his chance through Michal Neuvirth to put the Maple Leafs on the board.

Just 28 seconds later, Jake Gardiner threw a shot on goal that bounced around in front of the net. Frederik Gauthier was able to bat in the loose puck, quickly giving the Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead.

Toronto carried the 2-0 lead into the second intermission, with the Flyers holding the 21-19 advantage in shots through 40 minutes.

The Flyers quickly changed the way the game was turning in the third.

Nolan Patrick got things started. After his shot was stopped by Frederik Andersen and went high in the air to land at the side of the net, he stole the puck and used a quick turnaround shot to beat Andersen and get the Flyers on the board. It was Patrick's third goal of the season.

The Flyers went to the penalty kill moments later, but took advantage of a scoring chance. Off a two-on-one, Valtteri Filppula carried the puck into the Toronto zone and fed a perfect pass over to Wayne Simmonds who went upstairs for the shorthanded goal to tie the game at two.

Both goalies had to make some difficult saves from there. Neuvirth was especially excellent, making several point-blank saves on Toronto's top line.

Neuvirth's best came on a two-on-one late. He sprawled across to rob Patrick Marleau of what looked to be a sure goal to keep the game tied. Neuvirth stopped all 11 Toronto shots thrown his way in the third, helping the Flyers force overtime.

The Flyers wasted no time ending things in overtime. After a quick chance for Toronto, the Flyers got an odd-man rush going the other way. Travis Konecny fed a pass to Couturier, who fired past Andersen for the game-winning goal, his 26th of the season.

The Flyers out-shot the Maple Leafs, 37-31. Neuvirth made 29 saves in the win, Andersen collected 34 saves in the loss.

The Flyers get back to action on Saturday afternoon as they host the New Jersey Devils at 1 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• No Scoring

2nd Period

• TOR Connor Brown (12) (Zach Hyman) 12:57
• TOR Frederik Gauthier (1) (Jake Gardiner, Matt Martin) 13:25

3rd Period

• PHI Nolan Patrick (3) (Unassisted) 1:33
• PHI Wayne Simmonds (16) SH (Valtteri Filppula, Andrew MacDonald) 3:25

Overtime

• PHI Sean Couturier (26) (Travis Konecny, Michal Neuvirth) 0:18

Game Statistics