Flyers drop third straight game with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Flames

CALGARY, Alberta ― Flyers Coach Rick Tocchet often talks about learning lessons as the season rolls on.

Well, his team failed to do that because they followed up a disappointing late 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames in their final trip to the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Matt Coronato scored the game-winner in overtime for the Flames.

The Flyers have now lost three straight and six of seven. They are 4-10-5 on the season.

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One part of the lesson after Thursday’s loss to the Rangers was the Flyers missing their opportunities. In the first period on Sunday, the fourth line took advantage of an odd-man rush with 7 minutes, 14 seconds left to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

Jamie Drysdale got the puck after the Flames failed to regroup in the neutral zone and banked it off the boards to Sean Couturier. The Flyers captain had room with sophomore defenseman Zayne Parekh falling after the two clipped each other on the Flames’ side of the red line.

The collision created a three-on-one with Couturier on the right, Noel Acciari going down the middle — drawing the attention of the lone Flame back, defenseman Yan Kuznetsov — and Denver Barkey going wide left.

Flames goalie Devin Cooley was ready for Couturier’s shot — which may have been more of a setup to create a rebound — but he sent his rebound to Barkey for the easy goal.

Barkey’s second of the season extended his point streak to three games (two goals, one assist), while Drysdale extended his point streak to four (six assists). Playing in his 971st NHL game, Couturier now has 585 career points.

But while much of the opening 20 minutes highlighted the Flyers’ speed and quickness — Owen Tippett used his speed to blow by the defense, but Cole Knuble couldn’t handle the hard rebound — the Flames tied it up on a goal by Parekh less than three minutes later.

The Flames broke out of their own end and entered the Flyers’ zone with five minutes remaining in the period, keeping the Flyers pinned as they worked the perimeter. Eventually the puck went to Parekh at the right point, and he sliced through the middle — and between Tippett and Trevor Zegras — before scoring over Dan Vladař’s glove.

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A former Flames netminder for four seasons, Vladař was making his first career start against his former club.

In the second period, the Flyers were the better squad, with 64.71% of the shot attempts, 10 high-danger chances to the Flames’ one, and 16 shots on goal. At the end of the period, they led 3-2.

The fourth line again gave the Flyers the lead, and this time it was Acciari with a nifty tip-in from in front for his second goal in as many games.

Couturier started the rush up the ice after chipping the puck away from Parekh in the Flyers’ end and passed it to Acciari. The forward dumped the puck slowly down the boards and chased after it, sending it around to Barkey.

Although it bounced past Barkey as he was being checked, the puck went to Couturier, who was supporting up the boards. Couturier passed it to defenseman Nick Seeler at the left point for the quick shot that Acciari tipped past Cooley to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

But the Flames tied it up again, this time 3 minutes, 43 seconds after the Flyers’ goal. Philly struggled to get the puck out of their own end, with Tippett’s chip on Drysdale’s ring around pass taken away by the Flames and Knuble unable to fully knock the puck away from Aydar Suniev at the blue line. The Flames defenseman passed it over to his partner, and Zach Whitecloud shot against the grain over Vladař’s blocker to make it 2-2.

Then special teams took over, with the Flyers’ second unit on the good and bad end of things.

First, Tippett gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead. He had been flying all night and had five individual shot attempts and four scoring chances across the first 40 minutes, with one beating Cooley.

Tippett got the puck in the slot off a rebound on a shot by Christian Dvorak from the side of the net. The forward spun and buried the puck for his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

In the third period, the second unit was on the ice when former Flyers forward Joel Farabee scored a short-handed goal.

The Flyers were regrouping in the neutral zone when Tippett’s dump-in went off Calgary’s Joel Hanley at the blue line. It went to Oliver Bonk, who tried to grab the puck, but Martin Pospisil knocked it away, and Farabee took off for the puck.

He skated in and buried it around the splayed-out Vladar as the Flyers were once again unable to hold a lead in the second half of the period.

Vladař then took over, making several big-time saves. He stoned Matvei Gridin from point blank and Farabee’s backhand attempt from in front.

Defenseman David Jiříček was a healthy scratch for the eighth straight game, and Michael Bunting sat for the fifth straight.

The Flyers get right back to action on Monday in Vancouver, B.C., against the Canucks (9:30 p.m., NBCSP).