Flyers rally from two goals down for 3-2 OT win

PHILADELPHIA – It’s never easy beating a team twice in the same week no matter how bad its numbers are.
After knocking off the Blues by a 6-5 shootout decision last Friday in St. Louis, the Flyers knew it wouldn’t be easy to duplicate the outcome on Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
And it wasn’t.
But the Flyers once again rallied from a two-goal deficit, just as they had twice in St. Louis and found a way to win, this time on a goal by Travis Sanheim at 3:51 of overtime.
The Flyers are now 6-3 in overtime this season. The Blues fell to 0-6.
Philadelphia entered the third period down 2-1 but picked up a goal from Tyson Foerster at 10:49 off an assist from Emil Andrae.
The Blues, who came into the game with a minus-23 goal differential and a league-worst 78 goals allowed, got off to a 2-0 lead in the first period and tried to make it stand up. As was the case in St. Louis, the Blues fell just short.
Goaltender Dan Vladar deserves credit for keeping the Flyers in this one. After surrendering those two early goals, Vladar rebounded and allowed nothing after that.
The Flyers are now a rather astonishing 4-5-2 when trailing after two periods.
That probably says a lot about their never-say-die attitude.
“It’s not the start you want,” said Sanheim, who could have passed to Sean Couturier on the winning goal but chose instead to finish it off himself. “We had some chances to capitalize (and didn’t) but we still had 40 minutes to kind of sort it out. Credit to the guys to stick with it and find a way to come back.”
These comeback wins are getting to be a little old hat but coach Rick Tocchet isn’t taking anything for granted. There’s still work to be done. Like?
“Better body position,” he said. “But it’s been better. It’s getting better every game. So give the players credit. They’re buying into it.”
The Flyers’ fourth line of Rodrigo Abols-Garnet Hathaway-Nic Deslauriers, which entered the game with exactly zero points among the trio, finally got off the schneid late in the second period to cut a deficit to one.
Down 2-0, Abols found some open space at the bottom of the right circle, took a pass from Owen Tippett and beat goalie Joel Hofer with 2:03 left in the frame.
“It seemed like they were more connected, more predictable,” Tocchet said of his fourth line. “They had some big shifts, helped regain the momentum for us.”
Justin Faulk, who was a force for the Blues in last week’s 6-5 shootout Flyers’ shootout win at St. Louis, played a big part in the visitors’ offense again at the outset.
He scored twice in the first period to give the Blues a 2-0 lead.
On the first, he launched a point shot through a maze of bodies and Vladar didn’t have a clear view of the puck, which sailed past him at 5:31.
Faulk was back at it at 12:08. With St. Louis on a power play, Faulk was left open at the top of the left circle. Vladar was a split-second late getting over and couldn’t get a handle on the shot.
For the final 48 minutes of regulation time and almost four more in OT, Vladar held the fort. He’s a goalie the Flyers can count on in tough situations.
“From my side I wasn’t happy with the start,” he said. “But as the game went on, I felt a little bit better. We have a bunch of guys who are hungry to win. That helps. I’m really proud of the group.”

>Andrae moving up

Andrae usually plays on the third defense pairing but halfway through the game Tocchet moved him up to the second tandem with Jamie Drysdale.
That’s a pretty big promotion for a kid who’s been going back and forth between Philly and Lehigh Valley.
“When you’re playing more, the more confidence you have,” Andrae said. “I have stuff that I can improve from tonight. I think the stuff I did well with was get up with the play, I create a lot of offense, move the puck quick.”
Added Foerster, the beneficiary of Andrae’s timely assist on the tying goal: “He’s been great for us. He’s making plays in the ‘D’ zone and also in the offensive zone.”
Tocchet didn’t hesitate to make the move based on the way Andrae has been playing.
“He’s one of our better guys who goes back and ‘wheels’ the puck,” Tocchet said.
Andrae made a key shot block late in the game and don’t think Tocchet didn’t notice.
“We need more guys doing that,” Tocchet said. “A little desperate. That’s good.”

>Short shots

Sanheim recently passed Tom Bladon for fourth place on the franchise’s alltime defensemen total assists (164-163) list. In overall points, Sanheim is now fifth at 219. In ice time per game for defensemen this season, Sanheim is third in the NHL at 25:36.
The Flyers will hold a “Bernie Parent Celebration of Life” ceremony at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday, 6 p.m. The ceremony is open to the public and there is no admission charge. The former Flyers goaltender, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, passed away in September at the age of 80.