Flyers claw back to fall in overtime to Ottawa Senators, snap two-game winning streak

Maybe it was the early start time, but on a warm fall afternoon in Philadelphia, the Flyers once again started slow and dug themselves a hole.

They regrouped in the second period and tied the game in the third, but it wasn’t enough as the Ottawa Senators won 3-2 in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena on a goal by Tim Stützle at the left post. The German’s second goal of the day snapped the Flyers’ two-game winning streak and marked their third loss in five games, but did extend their point streak to three games.

“As much as it could have been a frustrating day, we didn’t give them a whole lot after the first,” said captain Sean Couturier. “It was still a big point.”

» READ MORE: The Flyers have proven to be ‘resilient’ so far this season, led by goalie Dan Vladař

On Friday morning in Voorhees, after the Flyers battled back to beat the Nashville Predators, 3-1, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet called his team resilient. “You’re not going to have your A game. Can you win on your B game or your C game? That takes resolve.”

Well, the Flyers probably had their D game in the first period, putting four shots on goal, with the first one not coming until almost the 10-minute mark. According to Jamie Drysdale, there wasn’t much X’s and O’s chatter in the first intermission, but that it was “a crappy period and leave it behind and we know we can be a lot better.”

And they did as Tocchet’s group upped its grade across the final 40 minutes of regulation. The Flyers had 10 shots in the second, and eight more in the third as they dominated play, pinning Ottawa in their end several times.

Drysdale tied the game halfway through the third period with his second goal of the season.

Off an offensive-zone faceoff win by Christian Dvorak, Owen Tippett tapped the puck to Nick Seeler to set off a D-to-D pass to Drysdale. The fleet-of-foot skater avoided former Flyer Nick Cousins, who wasn’t moving his feet, and carried the puck down the right boards. He tried to feed Tippett, but the puck went through to Seeler at the left point.

The blueliner sent it over to Trevor Zegras, and he put the puck toward the net with Dvorak in front, setting the screen. It actually hit Dvorak, who was battling with fellow centerman Lars Eller in front, and bounced right to Drysdale — who said he stayed low with Zegras covering at the point — after he had skated around the net and planted himself by the left post for the wide-open goal.

“That’s what we want from him. That was a great goal,” Tocchet said when asked about Drysdale’s footwork on the play. “I’m proud of him. He was a little bit sick, and he gave us quality minutes for a guy who’s not feeling great. So it’s a big step for Jamie.”

Everyone has been saying it, and now the eye test is showing that Matvei Michkov’s game is picking up. The Russian winger got the Flyers on the board in the second period with a masterful shift.

He sliced through the top of the crease as Dvorak’s shot was blocked and picked up the puck behind the net. With Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson on him — he actually knocked the puck away at one point — Michkov stuck with it and initiated contact, confirming postgame it was to create space between himself and the rising American blueliner.

Michkov then took the puck and curled in the right faceoff circle before shooting it from the slot, beating Linus Ullmark.

“What Mich did is something that we’re preaching all the time, that was textbook,” said Tocchet on Michkov’s body positioning. “... Then the strong-side winger [on the Senators], he goes, what do I do, and he was worried about the point shot.

“Then Mich takes it to the middle and shoots from the interior. I mean, that’s a perfect example and that’ll be on the video tomorrow, on how you want to do it.”

The 20-year-old now has three goals on the season, with two coming in consecutive games. Michkov said through a team translator that he did not train well this offseason and, because of it, “lost concentration” at the beginning of the season. Tocchet did say in mid-October that Michkov dealt with an ankle injury in the summer.

Tocchet thinks he looks faster playing on the left side, and Saturday, Michkov feels much better about where his game is.

“Absolutely,” he said through a team translator when asked if the goal in Nashville took a weight off his shoulders. “I like to score, and I cannot live without that feeling. When I scored, I felt lifted, and I was light on the ice.

“When you think about it too much, the body feels heavy, everything feels heavy, and it builds up game after game. When you score, you come in with a light head and ready to go, and the body feels a lot better.”

Sam Ersson got between the pipes for his first start since making 24 saves on Oct. 28 in a 3-2 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ersson tweaked something the next day before practice and went on injured reserve. He was activated on Thursday and was the backup goalie for Dan Vladař in Nashville.

On Saturday, he did not get much help early on as the Flyers came out lackadaisical.

Ottawa took a 1-0 lead 5 minutes, 14 seconds into the game on a goal by Stützle, sending a one-timer from the right faceoff circle past Ersson. Stützle had time in the circle after Seeler hit him along the boards, but upon releasing him, he went to the center of the ice as two Flyers went to Ridly Greig, the son of Flyers amateur scout Mark Greig. It gave David Perron and Stützle all the time they needed.

» READ MORE: Fresh off Nikita Grebenkin’s first NHL goal, his maturation continues: ‘He can be a really valuable part of this team’

Michael Amadio made it 2-0 just 65 seconds later as he walked straight down the center of the ice before sending a backhand shot past Ersson.

There was a lot of puck watching and standing still on the play, notably by Zegras, who hung too close to Dvorak and Claude Giroux along the left point; Giroux, the ex-Flyers captain, was the one who fed Amadio. Tippett on the backcheck, didn’t try to play Amadio either.

Although it’s hard to blame Ersson when his defense collapses in front of him, the Swede settled down — thanks to his teammates. The goals came on the Senators’ second and third shots, and they didn’t get many more after that. Ersson faced five shots in the second period and one shot in the third, from a bad angle by Dylan Cozens, with 1:26 left in regulation.

Stützle’s second goal of the night won the game for Ottawa 3:18 into overtime when he got behind the defense. On the play, it looked like Zegras wanted to change, but he instead got caught, and Stützle was able to crash the net unchecked on a two-on-one with Drake Batherson.

“Come to the bench hard. He was kind of waving like he wanted to come off, but you’ve got to be decisive, like he wasn’t decisive,” Tocchet said of Zegras, who sat in his stall for a long time after the game. “It was a tough play, but you either got to come hard or you got to stay on.”

Konecny had the secondary assist on Michkov’s goal to extend his point streak to seven games (four goals, five assists). ... Forward Nic Deslauriers was a healthy scratch with Carl Grundström making his Flyers debut after being recalled on Friday. He was acquired along with defenseman Artem Guryev from the San Jose Sharks for the Ryan Ellis contract and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft in early October. Skating with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, Grundström had three goals (two on the power play) and six points in 11 games. ... The Flyers have now lost three in a row on home ice, after winning five straight in Philly. ... The Orange and Black are now 4-2 when a game is not decided in regulation, with the other loss coming back on Oct. 11 against the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime.

The Flyers are scheduled to practice on Sunday and Tuesday before a Wednesday night showdown with Connor McDavid and the visiting Edmonton Oilers (7:30 p.m., NBCSP).