PHILADELPHIA — So much for letdown games.
The Flyers were in perfect position to overlook the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night, but they didn’t.
After their biggest win of the season over Vegas on Saturday night, they took care of the Jackets with a 5-2 win at the Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia picked up a goal from Joel Farabee in the first period, then a pair from Bobby Brink and Ryan Poehling to move their season record to 10-7-1.
Travis Konecny and Cam York later scored for the Flyers.
The Flyers moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division. Goalie Sam Ersson picked up the win.
It’s the first five-game winning streak since 2019-20.
The Flyers’ confidence seems to be growing game by game.
“I think to me it’s belief,” he said. “You find a way to scratch some wins against some really good teams (Los Angeles, Carolina, Vegas). And you start believing that we’re doing it right. It’s not a physical skill, it’s a mental skill. Belief is huge when you’re dealing with 25, 26 athletes to be a team.
“Ir’a good now, it’s five in a row. We’re going to get tested. When there are struggles, we’ll see how we are then. But as long as we come to work each day, we’ll be the best we can be.”
Farabee scored on a solo break-in at 5:11 of the first, finishing it off with a backhander past goalie Spencer Martin.
After the Jackets tied it late in the first, Bobby Brink broke the tie 1:11 into the second. Brink had been a healthy scratch the last three games.
The Flyers played pretty well without Brink.
“I mean you are happy for the guys,” Brink said at the first intermission. “You are happy for the guys who are scoring. It’s obviously better when the team is winning. So you just try to be supportive of everyone who is playing.
After the game, Brink was all smiles. He’s been watching guys like Cam Atkinson and Konecny to see what they do since they are established pros.
“It was good to get back in,” he said. “I was excited. I think I brought energy. Did a little bit of hard work just from watching games. It’s exciting to be in the lineup. I got in the weight room a lot. And then just watching games, trying to take in other guys, you see guys like me, Cam and TK. You sort of watch them. See what makes them successful.”
Ryan Poehling made it 3-1 at 6:41. He wedged a shot under Martin’s pads and officials had to review it before letting it stand.
Columbus cut the margin to 3-2 with a goal from Boone Jenner with 2:03 left in the seconds. Konecny and York took some of the suspense away in the third.
Ersson has played well and needed to do since the Flyers don’t use goalies in back-to-back games and Carter Hart played the previous day against Vegas.
“We’re in good shape so I think we handled the back-to-back very well,” he said. “Winning is fun, winning is why we play. It gives you momentum, it gives you energy. We were coming off a game yesterday against a very good team so when you win, you get so much more energy.”
And finally, Poehling has been all over the place this season, first centering the fourth line, then spending some time on the bench. But he appears to be coming into his own now.
Tortorella likes the fact he settled on a one-year contract with the Flyers.
“He’s betting on himself,” Tortorella said.
Poehling has the build and the speed to make the Flyers a harder team to defend.
“It’s been great,” Poehling said of his recent promotion to a higher line with more skilled players. “The biggest thing is I just stayed ready. You never know when the opportunity is going to come. It’s been great so far. Not just me playing well but the whole team the last five or six games.
“If we just keep doing that, the belief in this locker room is great. If we keep doing that, I think we’re going to be happy.”
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With Brink in the lineup, Morgan Frost returned to the scratch list . . .Flyers are back in action on Wednesday night when they visit the New York Islanders.
