This time the comeback fell short but the effort didn’t.
For a fourth straight game, the Flyers overcame a two-goal deficit and battled their way to a 2-2 tie after two periods in a game against the Panthers at Sunrise, Fla. on Wednesday night.
But the Flyers, one of only four NHL teams with an undefeated record after three games, were playing the second half of a back-to-back and ran out of gas in the third period.
The Panthers scored twice in the final frame and went on to a 4-3 win at FLA Live Arena.
Travis Konecny scored a goal with just three seconds to play but there wasn’t enough time left on the clock to do any further damage.
Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe scored twice in the first period, both coming against goaltender Felix Sandstrom, looking for his first NHL win.
The Flyers responded with a goal from defenseman Nick Seeler before the period ended. He finished off a nice pass from Zack MacEwen at 16:31. Then Philadelphia pulled even on a power-play goal from James van Riemsdyk at 15:16 of the second period against former Flyer goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Philadelphia, coming off a win over Tampa on Wednesday night, showed signs of wear in the third period. The Panthers picked up goals from Rudolfs Balcers at 3:51 – via a nice deke move past rookie defenseman Egor Zamula — and then Josh Mahura padded the lead with a goal at 9:08.
The Flyers complete their three-game road trip with a game at Nashville on Saturday night.
>Short shots
Seeler’s goal was just the fourth of his 152-game career in the NHL. . .The second Verhaeghe goal nicked off Justin Braun’s stick, giving Sandstrom no chance on the deflection. . .Konecny had a goal disallowed when officials ruled Joel Farabee was offside. . .Flyers were trying for their first 4-0-0 start since 1995. . .The Flyers have given up the first goal in four straight games. . .Philadelphia has scored a power-play goal in each of its first four games.