Patrick, Mrazek Lead Flyers to 4th Straight Win

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Injuries have forced the Flyers hand lately, but new opportunities are allowing players to step up.

Petr Mrazek was excellent in his Flyers debut, while Nolan Patrick, filling in for Wayne Simmonds on the power play, scored the game-winning goal on the man advantage in a 2-1 win for the Flyers over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.

It was a sluggish first period for both sides with limited opportunities. The Flyers outshot Columbus, 7-2, in the first period. The Flyers did have two power plays, but failed to score. They also went to the penalty kill for the first time in four games, but successfully killed off the penalty to keep the game scoreless.

The Flyers had to kill off another penalty in the second and missed an opportunity to strike first on another power play. Right after the power play expired, the Blue Jackets capitalized on a chance.

Out of the box, Artemi Panarin picked off a pass from Ivan Provorov and started the other way on a two-on-one. Panarin had the angle and fired a shot high past Mrazek for the first goal of the game.

Columbus dominated the second period, outshooting the Flyers 14-6.

The Flyers came out much stronger in the third and wasted little time getting things evened up. The Flyers got a fortunate bounce on a Sean Couturier pass off a Columbus defender that went right to Claude Giroux. Giroux walked in and fired over Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game with his 21st goal of the season.

Midway through the period, Giroux took a knee-on-knee hit from Brandon Dubinsky that put the Flyers back on the power play for the fifth time in the game. After going 0-for-4 to that point, the Flyers didn't waste time taking advantage.

A point shot by Shayne Gostisbehere was stopped and left a rebound for Nolan Patrick to pick up and put past Bobrovsky to give the Flyers the lead. It was Patrick's third straight game with a goal and fourth straight game with a point.

The lead held up for the Flyers for the remainder of the game, as they held Columbus to just four shots in the final 20 minutes.

Mrazek made 19 saves in his first win for the Flyers. Bobrovsky made 18 saves in the loss.

Both Giroux and Gostisbehere had two-point games. The game-winning goal for Patrick was the first of his career.

The Flyers are back in action on Saturday afternoon, looking to keep their points streak going against the Ottawa Senators. Game time is at 2 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• No Scoring

2nd Period

• CBJ Artemi Panarin (17) (Unassisted) 12:51

3rd Period

• PHI Claude Giroux (21) (Sean Couturier, Shayne Gostisbehere) 2:34
• PHI Nolan Patrick (8) PP (Gostisbehere, Giroux) 9:49

Game Statistics