Postgame 5: Flyers Take One Point in Columbus

The Philadelphia Flyers had to settle for one point against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-2 (2-0) shootout loss at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday evening. The Flyers never trailed at any point of regulation but couldn't put away the game.

Dynamic offensive defenseman Zach Werenski scored twice in regulation for Columbus. Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett tallied for the Flyers, who held a 1-0 lead in the first period and 2-1 in the third. Kent Johnson netted the winning shootout goal for the Blue Jackets.

Columbus has now won five games in a row. They opened a four-point lead over the Flyers in the race for the lower wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

For most of the first period, the Flyers picked up where they left off in Monday's win over Florida. Philly controlled most of the territorial play, and grabbed the game's first goal. However, a single mistake proved costly and the two teams went to intermission tied at 1-1.

The Flyers tooke a 1-0 lead at 3:44 as a wide open Bobby Brink (5th goal of the season) scored his first goal in 21 games on a back-door feed from Nick Seeler. Jamie Drysdale earned the secondary assist.

Philadelphia had the better of the play until a Zach Werenski breakaway goal (14th) tied the score at 10:27. A risky lateral pass in the offensive done got picked off by Werenski, who took off up the ice and beat Ivan Fedotov under the blocker and over the right pad for an unassisted tally.

First period shots on goal ended up tied at 8-8. There were no penalties and relatively few whistles in general in the opening 20 minutes.

The second period was scoreless with shots equal at 9-9. The middle frame was very tight checking overall. The closest the Flyers came to scoring was a Morgan Frost deflection of a Jamie Drysdale shot. Columbus had one good flurry for Fantilli and Voronkov.

The first penalty of the game went against Columbus on a cross-checking minor on Dane Fabbro at 1:50. The Flyers lost the first draw but managed to gain a re-entry and generate decent puck movement.

The period was rather low-event until 11:39. Travis Sanheim was rocked by a Mathieu Olivier hit in the Flyers' defensive zone, and took exception. When play moved up-ice, Travis Konecny responded on his teammate's behalf. Both players received roughing minors and Konecny received an additional interference penalty. The Flyers killed off the penalty.

Olivier's hit elevated the temperature of the game a bit for the latter portion of the period. The teams went to intermission with the game up for grabs entering the third period.

Tyson Foerster had two scoring chances early in the third period on a mini 2-on-1 with Brink. At 4:30, a pinching Seeler fired a shot off the outside of the post. On the next shift, after the Flyers controlled the faceoff, Frost teed up a one-timer for a pinching Sanheim on the other side. Goalie Daniil Tarasov made the stop.

At the other end, Columbus defenseman Damon Severson nearly scored a back door goal. A sprawling Fedotov made the save.

Finally, the Flyers turned a Columbus miscue into a go-ahead goal by Owen Tippett (13th) at 8:13. A risky neutral zone pass by Werenski was intercepted by Frost. Tippett received a drop pass. From over the middle above the circles, Tippett fired a wrist shot along the ice using Dante Fabbro as partial screen. The shot eluded Tarasov. Frost earned the lone assist.

At 12:20, the Flyers went to the power play with a chance to put a stranglehold on the game when Zach Aston-Reese accidentally high-sticked Seeler in the neutral zone. The Flyers first unit generated good pressure, including a scoring chance for Matvei Michkov. Columbus survived the penalty.

Columbus forged a 2-2 tie at 15:20 on Werenski's second goal of the game (15th of the season). The sequence started with the Flyers exiting the defensive zone and beginning a line change as they relaxed momentarily.

The play turned dangerous after the puck was turned over to Adam Fantilli. In the Flyers' zone, Werenski joined the attack to take a feed from Kirill Marchenko (30th assist) and score from near the right dot. The assists went to Marchenko and Fantilli.

Looking to spark a push late in regulation, Garnet Hathaway threw his eighth credited hit of the game on the next shift for the Flyers' fourth line. With 41 seconds left in regulation Sanheim iced the puck. The Cates line had to stay out with 6.7 seconds remaining. Severson had a golden scoring chance after Columbus won the draw.

Third period shots were 8-7 Columbus (25-24 Blue Jackets through regulation).

In OT, the Flyers had more of the possession time but Columbus had a 3-1 shot edge (28-25 over 65 minutes) and the better scoring chances. Most notably, Werenski was denied one-on-one with Fedotov on a five-hole attempt. Frost generated Philly's lone shot in OT, as Tarasov stopped a shot from the high slot.

In the ensuing overtime, Columbus elected to shoot first. The progression went as follow:

* Top of the 1st -- Johnson scored through the five-hole

* Bottom of the 1st -- Konecny's shot beat Tarasov but hit the post
* Top of the 2nd -- Fantilli was stopped on a low shot attempt

* Bottom of the 2nd -- Michkov made a move but was denied

* Top of the 3rd Marchenko scored through the five hole to end the game.

In a battle of huge-framed goaltenders, Fedotov stopped 26 of 28 shots before going 1-for-3 in the shootout. Tarasov made 23 saves on 25 shots and then went 2-for-2 in the shootout.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster - 27 Noah Cates - 10 Bobby Brink
74 Owen Tippett - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny
15 Olle Lycksell - 14 Sean Couturier - 39 Matvei Michkov
21 Scott Laughton - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway

6 Travis Sanheim - 8 Cam York
5 Egor Zamula - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

24 Nick Seeler - 9 Jamie Drysdale

82 Ivan Fedotov

[33 Samuel Ersson]

PP1: Drysdale,Tippett, Frost, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Ristolainen, Foerster, Cates, Brink, Sanheim

Scratches:77 Erik Johnson (healthy), 44 Nicolas Deslauriers (IR), 35 Aleksei Kolosov (healthy), 86 Joel Farabee (healthy).

TURNING POINT

The turnover and eventual Werenski goal that knotted the game at 2-2 with 4:37 left in the third period ultimately served to prevent a regulation win for the Flyers.

POSTGAME 5 ("5 Things" Revisited)

1. Drawing closer to wildcard: The Flyers entered Tuesday's game three points (plus a 16-11 regulation wins tiebreaker disadvantage) behind Columbus for the lower wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. They left the building four points behind.

2. Konecny's line: Flyers leading scorer Konecny and linemates Tippett and Frost buzzed several times in the first period and then again in portions of the third period. Ultimately, Tippett supplied the team's second goal.

3. Important start for Fedotov: The 6-foot-7 Russian goaltender gave the Flyers a chance to win either in regulation or overtime. Neither of Werenski's goals were the fault of the goaltender. Tarasov, conversely, would have liked back the Tippett goal. Overall, Fedotov did his part on this night, and did not hurt his standing above Alekesi Kolosov for the No. 2 spot on the current goalie depth chart.

4. Flyers power play: The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play on Tuesday. They were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. Neither Philly power play was bad from possession or puck movement standpoint. However, as stated in 5 Things, scoring even one power play goal could make a big difference in the outcome. That proved true, especially on the latter Philly man advantage.

5. Energy management: Playing their third game in four nights and coming off a pair of dramatic matches, the Flyers played a patient game. They had good early energy. They had decent structure, especially in the D zone. A couple of puck lapses proved costly in transition. Overall, the Flyers didn't play like a fatigued team.