Flyers rally but lose crazy game to Stars in overtime originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Despite scoring three shorthanded goals, two of them in the third period to force overtime, the Flyers fell to the Stars, 5-4, Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
Yes, you read that correctly. It was a wild one in Dallas.
The Flyers will absolutely take the point considering the circumstances.
With their team down 4-2 and on the penalty kill over halfway through the final stanza, Travis Konecny and Sean Walker scored back-to-back goals to stun the Stars. Konecny’s marker was his second shorthanded goal of the night, while Walker’s was his second shorthanded goal in the last two games.
Joe Pavelski saved Dallas with the OT winner. He edged out Sean Couturier on a faceoff before making a nice move to beat Samuel Ersson.
John Tortorella’s club is 3-1-1 through its first five games. Last season, in Year 1 under Tortorella, the Flyers started 4-1-0.
The Flyers haven’t beaten the Stars since January 2019. They’re 0-6-1 and have been outscored 32-12 in their last seven matchups with Dallas. Meanwhile, they haven’t won in Dallas since October 2014.
The Stars (3-0-1) are considered a Stanley Cup contender this season.
• With three shorthanded tallies Saturday night, the Flyers now have four goals from their penalty kill, three more than they have on their power play.
The Flyers’ man advantage had only one opportunity against Dallas. It’s 1 for 18 on the season so far.
The Flyers played a pretty commendable game. They trailed 3-2 at second intermission despite outshooting the Stars 29-15. They recorded 40 or more shots for the second time in five games.
And they didn’t quit when it looked like Dallas had the game wrapped up.
• In a battle of backup goalies, Ersson wasn’t sharp through the first 20-plus minutes, allowing three goals.
The 24-year-old was playing his first game in 19 days. His last appearance came in the Flyers’ fifth preseason game and he faced only 14 shots that night.
But Ersson eventually settled in Saturday night and helped the Flyers get to overtime. He bailed out Travis Sanheim and Emil Andrae early in the third period with a pair of big saves to keep the Flyers within one.
He also made a highlight-reel glove save on Roope Hintz in OT.
The Stars beat him three times on his blocker side. Wyatt Johnston got Ersson a little over four minutes into the game to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Then, 30 seconds into the second period, Hintz reclaimed the Stars their lead at 3-2.
About halfway through the third period, Jamie Benn gave Dallas an important insurance goal before the Flyers rallied behind their PK.
Ersson finished with 20 saves on 25 shots.
Stars backup Scott Wedgewood, also making his first start of the season, stopped 36 of the Flyers’ 40 shots.
• Through five games, Konecny has five goals — two at even strength, two on the penalty kill and one on the power play.
Noah Cates had two assists Saturday night. He made a terrific play on the PK to spring Konecny for a game-tying 2-2 goal with 3:24 minutes left in the first period.
Couturier, Cam Atkinson and Owen Tippett were cooled off after having a big night in the team’s 4-1 win Thursday over the Oilers.
• For a second straight game, Bobby Brink made a great play to assist a Joel Farabee goal.
His vision and hands are advanced.
The Flyers have to be thrilled with what they’ve gotten from the 22-year-old winger.
“It’s a player that we don’t have a lot of,” Tortorella said earlier this month.
• After suffering an upper-body injury Thursday, veteran defenseman Marc Staal will be out “weeks,” Tortorella told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff Neiburg.
Without Staal and Rasmus Ristolainen, who has yet to make his season debut because of an undisclosed injury, the Flyers played prospects Andrae and Egor Zamula in the same game for the first time this season.
On the back end, the Flyers had three players 23 years old or younger in Zamula (23), Andrae (21) and Cam York (22).
Overall, the club had 10 players 24 years old or younger in its lineup.
• In defense of Konecny during the third period, Nick Seeler fought the 6-foot-7 Jani Hakanpaa and won the bout.
• Morgan Frost was healthy scratched for a third straight game.
“It’s way too early in the year for me to let it bother me too much,” the 24-year-old center said Wednesday. “When I start feeling that way, even off the ice, I think that affects my game on the ice. I’m just going to try to stay positive and keep cheering the boys on with a smile on my face.”
• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Monday in Las Vegas before taking on the defending champion Golden Knights on Tuesday (11 p.m. ET/ESPN).
Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube
