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Three-on-three is built for 'Ghost', says Flyers' Voracek

Early in the first period Tuesday, Flyers rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere got turned around by Jeff Skinner's deft move before the Carolina forward scored the game's first goal.

But the player they call "Ghost" made amends in a big way.

Taking a pretty backhanded feed from Jake Voracek on a two-on-one in overtime, Gostisbehere knocked in the game-winner as the Flyers topped the Hurricanes, 4-3, before a roaring crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.

Gostisbehere broke up a Carolina scoring threat before putting the winning rush in motion.

"Three-on-three is built for him," said Voracek, who had a breakout game (see story) while playing a new position on a new line. "He's a great skater, with a great shot.  He's smart as well, so he knows when to jump in and what to do with the puck when he has it. That's why he is where he is right now and that's why he's scoring those goals."

Gostisbehere has three overtime goals in 15 games this season. He is the first rookie with three OT goals in a season since 2007-08, when Andrew Cogliano did it for Edmonton, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"Ghost, in a lot of areas, didn't have his best night and I think he recognized that and tried to keep things simple and then he had a chance to make an impact with the game-winning goal and he made no mistake on a hell of a play by Jake," coach Dave Hakstol said.

The speedy defenseman is tied with Johnny Gaudreau for the most OT goals in the NHL this season.

"That's one of the positives out of it tonight; he knew that maybe things weren't coming easy and maybe he wasn't having his best night and he was able to simplify it, get through the game, and then make a big play at the end," Hakstol said. "So....we have a positive outcome, and now we can go back to work tomorrow and address some of the holes."

The Flyers overcame a lackluster first period, and they are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games.

"I think we have to be honest with ourselves. I don't think tonight was our best,' Hakstol said. "We have a lot of things that we will address as a group and try to clean up. But the positive side of that is that we found a way to win the hockey game, so that just all comes back to everybody being on the same page and working hard together. So I give a real credit to the group in the room; they're doing that."

Breakaways. Voracek on his three-point performance: "I played the same way I played in Dallas or in St. Louis, but the pucks went in tonight and we had a couple lucky bounces."....The Flyers beat the same team in OT three times in a season for the first time, per the Elias Sports Bureau....Skinner's hat trick was the first for a Carolina player against the Flyers since Eric Staal did it in a 2005 game....Steve Mason is expected to get the start Thursday against visiting Vancouver, and Michal Neuvirth will likely play in Columbus on Saturday night. Neuvirth, who still leads the NHL in save percentage (.937), started his third straight game Tuesday.