Stutzle, Senators recover to defeat Flyers in OT

PHILADELPHIA -- Tim Stutzle scored 47 seconds into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Stutzle won it when he took a pass from Brady Tkachuk, skated past Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim in the slot and scored with a backhand around the left skate of Dan Vladar.

"They had a 2-on-1, they don't score, then I kind of just saw it going around the corner," Stutzle said. "'Chucky' bumped it to me, and then it was a good finish."

Stutzle, who will represent Germany at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, has goals in five straight games and 10 points (six goals, four assists) during a seven-game point streak.

"That guy's elite at what he does," Senators forward Nick Cousins said. "Definitely have a better appreciation for him now that I see him every day, on a regular basis, just in practice and whatnot. ... We're certainly lucky to have him. When he's at the top of his game it kind of bleeds through the rest of the lineup. He's playing great for us right now."

Cousins also scored for Ottawa (28-22-7), which won for the fifth time in six games. James Reimer made 15 saves.

Reimer started the game because Linus Ullmark was unavailable due to illness after taking part in the morning skate. Hunter Shepard was recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League and arrived during the first period to serve as the backup.

"It was a great win," Senators coach Travis Green said. "Great game. Unfortunate that they got a goal late but give them credit. We did a lot of great things, gave up 14 or 15 shots, spent a lot of time in their zone. Great game before the break."

The NHL’s break for the Olympics begins Friday.

Jamie Drysdale scored for Philadelphia (25-20-11), which lost for the 12th time in 15 games (3-8-4). Vladar made 25 saves.

"At this point of the year everyone's fighting for points," Drysdale said. "Nice to get one, would have been better to get two."

The Flyers tied it 1-1 when Drysdale scored at 18:46 of the third period. With Vladar pulled for an extra attacker, Drysdale took a cross-ice pass from Bobby Brink and scored from the top of the left face-off circle.

"It was a tight matchup there, both sides," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. "I didn't think there was much going on. ... Thought we did a good job just sticking in there, getting a big goal at the end."

Philadelphia had one final chance in overtime, when Reimer stopped Travis Konecny on a 2-on-1 rush at 38 seconds, but the Flyers struggled to generate chances most of the game. They didn't have a shot on goal for the first 15:35 of the first period, and had eight shots through two periods.

"I thought we played really well defensively," said Tkachuk, the Ottawa captain. "A lot of guys blocking shots. Just didn't give them much."

The Flyers had 21 missed shots and 18 attempts that were blocked.

"They block quite a few shots, they front pucks," Philadelphia defenseman Nick Seeler said. "I thought our decision making with the puck, maybe a little too much east/west, and when we did have an opportunity to get the puck on net we didn't take it."

Cousins gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 9:55 of the second period. Shane Pinto brought the puck out from behind the net and had his shot from low in the right circle stopped by Vladar with the right pad before Cousins skated to the top of the crease to bang in the rebound.

"Just a great all-around shift by my linemates there," Cousins said. "Just kind of winning puck battles, hanging on to it, and I just kind of rolled around the slot and 'Pints' made a really smart play to just kind of throw it there and put it off his pad. Doesn't get much easier than that."

NOTES: Stutzle's five-game goal streak is his longest in the NHL. He scored his 143rd goal, passing Shawn McEachern for ninth in Senators history, and his eighth overtime goal, passing Mike Fisher for second on the franchise list, behind Tkachuk (12). ... Tkachuk has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) during a nine-game point streak against the Flyers. ... Senators forward Drake Batherson had his four-game point streak end (five assists). ... Konecny had his four-game multipoint streak end (five goals, four assists). ... Philadelphia has lost eight straight games that have gone past regulation.