Denver Barkey scores twice as Flyers rally from two down, finish road trip with 4-3 win in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It felt like the Flyers had been driving for years, but they closed out a five-game road trip that started on a road far outside of Columbus, Ohio, with their second win — and fifth and sixth points ― in five games.

Led by goals from youngsters Denver Barkey, 21, Matvei Michkov, 21, and Trevor Zegras, 25, Philly skated away with a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

They extended their point streak to three games, going 2-1-2 on the road trip. The win is the Flyers’ first against a Metropolitan Division opponent.

» READ MORE: The Flyers haven’t won a game beyond regulation this season. How can they fix it?

The Flyers came out sluggish again and, before the first TV timeout, found themselves down 2-0.

Columbus won a face-off deep in the Flyers’ end, and Damon Severson set up Valeri Nichushkin for a one-timer from the high slot. The puck went off the end boards and right to a wide-open Dmitri Voronkov at the bottom of the left circle for the goal past Joseph Woll.

Exactly one minute later, Matthew Knies made it 2-0 off the rush. The Flyers skated into the Blue Jackets end, but Severson blocked Owen Tippett’s pass for a streaking Christian Dvorak, and Columbus transitioned up the ice. Knies got the puck from Luca Del Bel Belluz at the blue line and cut to the inside edge of the right circle before firing off a shot over Woll, who had dropped down.

However, like the last time these two teams played, a 4-3 overtime win by Columbus, which saw the Black and Orange down 3-0, they battled back.

Trevor Zegras got the Flyers on the board late in the first period with his fifth goal of the season, snapping a seven-game goal drought.

The Flyers got the puck deep and worked it around the boards, with Zegras tapping it deep in a scrum along the left boards. Travis Konecny hit ex-teammate Ivan Provorov as he moved the puck back up the boards, but it went right to Tyson Foerster.

Foerster zinged a quick pass to Zegras, who drifted through the slot, and Zegras fired it against the grain past Jet Greaves.

Then 79 seconds into the second period, Matvei Michkov tied the game with an end-to-end play that highlighted his recent strong 200-foot play and improved first three steps.

» READ MORE: Tyson Foerster’s slow start is par for the course. The numbers support that.

Adam Fantilli got the puck and curled up to the blue line with his body facing the Flyers’ goal and unaware that Michkov was coming his way. The Russian winger lifted Fantilli’s stick and stole the puck, skating up the ice on a breakaway.

He almost lost the puck around the slot as Severson got his stick on him for a second, but Michkov stayed with it, dipped around a splayed-out Greaves and scored on the backhand for his 11th goal of the season. He is now tied for 11th in the NHL.

Sixty-two seconds later, the Flyers led 3-2.

Owen Tippett laid a clean, hard hit on Kent Johnson in the offensive zone, and Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro took exception. The two dropped the gloves — Tippett’s first career regular-season fight — and Fabbro was given an extra two for roughing.

Twenty-three seconds into the ensuing power play, Denver Barkey found the back of the net. The Flyers moved the puck around the perimeter, Michkov to Zegras to Porter Martone, who then walked up the boards before feeding Barkey with a clever pass. The 21-year-old turned and scored over Greaves for his third of the season, all in November.

But the Blue Jackets tied it up later in the second.

Michkov sent the puck up the boards and out of the defensive zone, but Zach Werenski chipped it back up ice to Cole Sillinger. The son of former Flyers forward Mike Sillinger, Cole Sillinger fed it over to Fantilli, who made a slight move to the inside before beating Woll clean from distance.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the third period, Barkey scored his second of the game for the lead.

Severson tried to send an aerial outlet pass, but Noel Acciari knocked the puck down high in the Blue Jackets’ end. He passed the puck over to Barkey, who shot the puck past Greaves just as he was getting tripped for his first career multi-goal game.

With 2:32 left in regulation and the Flyers on a power play, Jamie Drysdale made a sliding block on a wide-open Severson to help preserve the lead.

Forward Cole Knuble and defenseman Simon Benoit were each a healthy scratch for the third straight game. Defenseman David Jiříček, a former Blue Jacket, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. He played against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday for the first time since Oct. 19. ... Tippett’s only other fight was in a preseason game in 2021 when he was a member of the Florida Panthers. He fought Corey Perry, who was then on the Tampa Bay Lightning. ... Columbus head coach Rick Bowness missed his second straight game due to an undisclosed health issue. Don Granato served as the bench boss in his place.

The Flyers host the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday (7:30 p.m., NBCSP). Philly lost 3-2 in overtime to the Oilers on Wednesday.