This one could have gone either way but the Flyers found a new way to lose on Thursday night in Ottawa.
They handed the Senators five power plays for the game and that last one proved fatal.
A penalty to new Flyer wing Michael Bunting resulted in a man-advantage goal by Carter Yakemchuk at 13:01 of the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and extending the Flyers’ winless streak to five games (0-3-2) with the 2-1 decision at Canadian Tire Centre.
To a man, the Flyers believed this was probably their best effort of the season, even though they didn’t get the outcome they wanted.
“We didn’t get the result that we needed but at least we had a good effort,” said captain Sean Couturier in a televised interview. “We can get some good things out of it tonight, at least. We have to keep grinding and find a way to get one here.”
Late in the third period, the Flyers showed perhaps the most spunk they have all season, peppering the Senator net with shots.
In what ways did the Flyers play a more inspired brand of hockey after four rather luckluster efforts?
“We didn’t change much, it was just more of a commitment to play our style,” Couturier said. “Competing, winning battles. I thought we did a better job at that. “Less turnovers. We executed a little better. But we still have to find ways to capitalize on our chances. At least there are some positives here tonight.”
Coach Rick Tocchet sounded satisfied with the overall effort.
“The compete was there,” Tocchet said. “The guys really worked hard. (But there was) penalty trouble. The passing was better. We have something that we can build on.”
Tocchet’s crew did have a five-on-three opportunity for 27 seconds in the second period but couldn’t convert.
“We have to make some plays under pressure, the five-on-three,” the coach said. “We had a couple looks but never found them. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”
The Flyers finally scored their first power-play goal of the season at 7:46 of the second period. Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark made a save on Trevor Zegras but couldn’t secure the puck and Matvei Michkov backhanded it the final foot into the goal to tie the score.
It was Michkov’s second goal of the season. No other Flyer has more than one.
At that juncture, the goal ended the Flyers’ 0-for-12 drought with the man advantage. Power-play inefficiency has been a problem in the Flyers’ game for years. A goal like that one can build some badly needed confidence.
“I think it’s good,” Zegras said in a second intermission interview of the power-play goal and the hopes of getting things back on track in that department. “I mean we were having a tough time scoring goals and getting shots. Getting a power-play goal will definitely help our five-on-five confidence.”
Ottawa jumped to a 1-0 lead on a goal by ex-Flyer Nick Cousins. Cousins was able to get a mid-range shot past Joseph Woll at 10:14 of the first period.
On the flip side, the Flyers managed to kill four straight Ottawa penalties in the opening 20 minutes.
“It was huge killing off four in a row,” Zegras said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before at any level.”
>Short shots
The Flyers’ five-game winless streak is the longest to start a season since 2008-09. . .Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was scratched for a second straight game with a left hand injury he suffered in Saturday’s game vs. Carolina. . .The Flyers get back into action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game vs. the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. . .The Senators held a pre-game tribute to former goaltender Ray Emery, who played for both Ottawa and Philadelphia. He perished in a drowning accident in 2018 at age 35. . .The Flyers now have a minus-13 goal differential, which is tied for worst in the NHL. . .Tocchet on Bunting, who wore No.58: “A little rusty. But he was trying out there.”. . .Woll drew praise from Tocchet after three strong games. “He’s solid, he’s a pro,” Tocchet said. “That was a really good game for him.”
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