If you’re having déjà vu, the Flyers have acted this script before. If fact, they did it on Friday. But they had a repeat performance on Wednesday, erasing a three-goal deficit to come back and win 5-4 in overtime over the Buffalo Sabres.
Although the Flyers seem to have a knack for this whole comeback thing, it looked so ugly early on that it wasn’t even a thought. The Flyers were outshot 9-3 in the early going, until former Flyer Ville Leino made it a 1-0 game.
Braydon Coburn had his pocket picked by Luke Adam. Adam backhanded to Zack Kassian who made the touch-pass to Leino who had a wide open net as Bryzgalov had already committed to Kassian. It was Leino’s third goal of the season, but fourth point in his last three games.
From there, it didn’t get any better for Bryzgalov who allowed two questionable goals. One was from Kassian who used Marc-Andre Bourdon as a screen. The other came on a Buffalo power play when he couldn’t hold the post against Thomas Vanek’s shot.
But instead of waiting for Peter Laviolette to make a first-intermission speech, Max Talbot scored on a buzzer beater to make it a two-goal game and start the comeback early.
The intra-conference rivalry heated up even more in the second period, when Marc-Andre Bourdon was called for boarding on a hit on Nathan Gerbe. For that he had to answer to Matt Ellis, and the Flyer won the fight.
Goalie Ryan Miller didn’t like that he had Flyers invading his crease. His own defenseman, Brayden McNabb, knocked his helmet off and Miller took a puck to the face as a result. With Miller rattled, the Flyers continued to strike.
The Flyers scored two goals in the second stanza to tie the game, both thanks to screens of the goalie. Jaromir Jagr untied it with an incredible toe drag to avoid Andrej Sekera and used the defenseman as a screen to beat Miller up high.
In the third period, the Flyers shut the door, playing more defensive hockey, but controlling the puck for the majority of the period. That is, until Drew Stafford scored from the slot to tie the game and force overtime. But the Sabres made a costly mistake in the extra session.
Marc-Andre Gragnani tried a cross-ice pass that was picked off by Claude Giroux who became the NHL’s scoring leader when he beat Miller five-hole on a breakaway.
The comeback script is one the Flyers have played out a couple times now and the third time in team history that they have accomplished that twice in a single season. They’ll have to hope it didn’t take too much out of them because even though they’re without Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins are waiting for them for a Thursday night game.
