Look out Eastern Conference, but here comes the Flyers. Their streaky season continues, but at least they are on the right side of those streaks. Thanks to goals by Joel Farabee and Rasmus Ristolainen, the Flyers have won three straight games and have points in their last six. The team's recent surge has placed them just outside of a playoff spot.
The Flyers struck first in the second period. Matvei Michkiv fed the puck to Sean Couturier on the boards who passed it to Farabee, who was weaving through traffic in front of the net. Somehow, he was able to take a shot that squirted past former Flyer Alex Lyon.
The Flyers would hold that lead until the start of the third period. Ben Chariot would receive a pass from Lucas Raymond while he was creeping up in front of the net. He fired off a laser shot that Sam Ersson couldn't see with all the traffic in front of him. For the night, Ersson stopped 27 of 28 shots. So far, Ersson has looked solid since returning from injury. Let's not burn him out.
The Flyers once again went to overtime. With time running out in the overtime period, Farabee passed the puck up to a racing Owen Tippett. Tippett fired off a shot that Lyon got a piece of, but began trickling toward the goal line. As it rolled back, Ristolainen was there to put the puck in the back of the net and secure the win. It is the sixth overtime win this year for Philadelphia; the second most in the NHL this year behind Pittsburgh's eight.
Didn't know who scored. Just knew it was a W.#EasyToCelebrate | @budlight pic.twitter.com/vQizHkl6KK
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 22, 2025
The Flyers were without Ryan Poehling who was recently placed on IR. The team was also without Scott Laughton, who was away for personal reasons. In their place, Olle Lycksell earned himself a roster spot. Also making his NHL debut was Rodrigo Abols, a 29-year-old Latvian who was starring for the Phantoms in his first year in North America. Abols would have two shots on goal in his first game.
The Flyers don't have a lot of time to rest up. Thursday, they face off against the flailing New York Rangers at 7:00 p.m. in the Big Apple.