Flyers extend point streak to seven straight with shootout win over Capitals

Flyers say never die.

Trailing 2-1 in the third period to the Washington Capitals, they tied things up on a nice goal by Joel Farabee as he came out from behind the net and buried the puck for his 11th of the year.

After Dylan Strome quieted the crowd less than four minutes later, Owen Tippett got the Wells Fargo Center rocking again with 2 minutes and 59 seconds left on the clock, when he turned high in the offensive end and scored through the legs of Travis Sanheim.

The Flyers then won, 4-3, on a shootout goal by Bobby Brink as he avoided a poke check by Charlie Lindgren to extend the Flyers’ point streak to seven straight. Sam Ersson stonewalled Anthony Mantha to seal the victory.

“Erss does that one to me all the time where we jumps out on me like that,” Brink said with a chuckle. “So I kind of knew it was coming, just watching his blocker a bit. So yeah, I mean, luckily Erss has helped me out with that one.”

Added Ersson with his own laugh and a big grin, “I told him, he learned the goalie twitch when he twitches his hand like that; that’s what I do. I take part of the credit.”

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The high-paced action came after a lackluster first period that saw the teams combine for just nine shots on goal. But things started to get moving and shaking in the second period.

Brink opened up the scoring 2 minutes and 14 seconds in when he appeared to tip a deflected point shot by Marc Staal, before getting his own rebound and chipping it up and over Charlie Lindgren with a backhander near the left post.

But the happiness was shortlived, as Connor McMichael was left alone in front and had the time to turn and tuck the puck around the pad of Ersson 46 seconds later. Tom Wilson scored on a power play off a cross-crease pass by Dylan Strome between the legs of Travis Sanheim.

“We weren’t at our best. You can tell we are flat. I think the biggest thing is that you admit to yourself that you are flat and just try to change your game a little bit,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “... So it’s a good win for us because you need to try to win those games and you’re not always going to be perfect, and we’ve been at a pretty good pace here of playing pretty consistent hockey. Had to win a different way tonight; we did it.”

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Travis Konecny and Cam Atkinson are doing the little things.

Konecny is seeing the ice so well right now. Although he didn’t get on the board in this one, he did have 11 shot attempts, including one post on the power play in the second period, and five attempts in the third period.

It did look like he scored and gave the Flyers their second lead 7:08 into the middle frame, when he had multiple whacks at the puck in the crease. And Konecny was sure the puck was in, too. However, the referees did take another look during the commercial break and, while Tortorella’s staff thought it was in, the Flyers opted to leave it alone, because it would have probably been goaltender interference as Konecny appeared to push the pad in.

The winger also set up a couple of chances for the Flyers, including a feed to Morgan Frost in the right circle just 34 seconds into the third period, on one of the power play’s better chances of the night.

As for Atkinson, he’s mired in a 14-game scoring drought, which he almost ended on a breakaway in overtime. Tortorella said on Tuesday in Nashville, he thought his veteran winger may be “gripping it a little bit” but added on Thursday he needs him to score more.

But while he’s not scoring, the winger is doing the little things to help the Flyers win.

Atkinson put pressure on the Capitals’ Martin Fehervary behind the net, causing the defenseman to lose control of the puck and allowing Ryan Poehling to chip it to Farabee for the equalizer.

“I want to score every single night and I want to contribute and help this team win as much as I can. And it hasn’t been going my way but sometimes it’s doing the harder things,” Atkinson said. “I’m not the biggest guy but I have no problem getting in the dirty areas and creating havoc, causing havoc. ... So yeah, you know, it’s if you’re not scoring, or putting up points, you have to find ways to contribute somehow.”

The winger also contributed before the play even developed.

“After the first two periods, I was a little frustrated with how I was playing, and Cam and I had a talk and he literally said, ‘Let’s just control what we can control,’ and we went out there and got a goal,” Farabee said before adding his admiration for his linemate.

“I personally love playing with him. The way he uses his legs to create chaos and get turnovers, I think is a huge part of his game and that’s exactly what happened there, [he] creates that turnover and then I get lucky and get the puck and I’m able to put it in. He’s a huge part of this team and he’s a really good leader for us.”

Even though it allowed a power-play goal on Thursday for the first time since Nov. 30 against the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers’ penalty kill is a well-oiled machine. The units stack the blue line and put pressure on their opponents at the right time to create turnovers and limit zone time for the opposition. In fact, they tend to have better scoring chances despite being a man down.

The power play, on the other hand, could use some power, as it went 0-for-5.

Across the five power play opportunities, which included 45 seconds of a 5-on-3, the Flyers had 17 shot attempts, including six shots on goal. The problem is only one shot was within 20 feet of the net, that being a wrist shot by Frost in the second period that was marked as seven feet out.

The Flyers had good puck movement with the man advantage, but it’s around the perimeter and they struggled to get inside. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers had only one high-danger chance on the power play in the game.

Carter Hart did not play due to illness. Felix Sandström served as the backup on an emergency recall. ... Louie Belpedio was sent down to Lehigh Valley. ... Marc Staal slotted back in, and Egor Zamula was in the press box.

The Flyers host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at 7 p.m. on NBCSP.