Flyers fall to the Panthers, 4-3, in a shootout

SUNRISE, Fla. — Picture it. South Florida. Feb. 6. The Flyers were in a tailspin, losing five straight where they were outscored 27-12 before the All-Star break.

Picture also March 7. The Flyers defense was decimated with Sean Walker traded and Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale injured.

Maybe it’s something in the water around Fort Lauderdale. But the Flyers skated away with 2-1 wins each time — with Sam Ersson in goal for both.

This Saturday, they may not have won, but for a team still trying to find its footing, South Florida once again helped them find solid ground. The Flyers came back in the third and had multiple chances in overtime, but eventually fell, 4-3, to the Florida Panthers in a shootout. They finished the three-game road trip through the Southeast, 1-1-1.

Ersson was back between the pipes after missing two games due to a lower-body injury. He didn’t look like he missed any time, making 28 saves on 31 shots in regulation and another three in the shootout.

» READ MORE: Flyers vs. Panthers takeaways: Sam Ersson returns to lead our three stars, Joel Farabee finishes the job

Garnet Hathaway tied the game 3-3 in the third period doing his best Ryan Poehling impersonation, finish and all. Against the St. Louis Blues, Poehling, who is on injured reserve, skated end-to-end and through the Blues defense before finding Hathaway for the goal.

This time, Hathaway was the one doing the dancing — as he did around several Panthers, including Aleksander Barkov — and the finishing. He banked the puck off Uvis Balinskis and through the legs of former Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Hathaway kept the Flyers’ hopes alive, but Joel Farabee started things off. After he did everything right but score on Thursday, he cashed in and gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the first period.

Bobby Brink directed a missed slapshot by Scott Laughton and Bobrovsky could not hold onto it. Laughton came in and poked it to Farabee, who buried it for his third of the season.

The Panthers tied things up and took the lead in the second period on goals by Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Kulikov.

Schmidt’s shot was a blast from the top of the left circle and Kulikov scored from the high slot. The Flyers thought the puck had exited the rink about 15 seconds before Kulikov’s goal and challenged but the review said no. Entering the night with the third-best penalty kill, the Flyers smoked out the ensuing power play.

In his second game with the Flyers, Anthony Richard tied it, 2-2. He got the puck above the circles and beat Bobrovsky through traffic for his first goal as a member of the Flyers and his first NHL goal since Feb. 17 with the Boston Bruins. But a wide-open Sam Bennett, finished off a tic-tac-toe at the right post to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.

Hathaway tied it midway through the period, but the Flyers couldn’t beat Bobrovsky in overtime and eventually fell in the shootout, 2-1.

Forward Matvei Michkov and defenseman Erik Johnson were healthy scratches again. ... Goalie Ivan Fedotov was the backup. Aleksei Kolosov remains injured.

The Flyers head home for a Monday matchup with Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., NBCSP). It will be the Flyers’ annual Military Appreciation Game and all fans attending the game will receive a camouflage Flyers hat. There will be a special ceremonial puck drop featuring Flyers Warrior Sergeant Josh Chilcote and his service dog, Turbo.