Flyers overcome a pair of deficits and hold off the Penguins for shootout win

PITTSBURGH — They say the waiting is the hardest part, and now the wait is over.

After 23 games, the Flyers finally have a comeback win with a 4-3 shootout victory against the Penguins.

Trailing, 1-0 and 2-1, the Flyers fought back to take a 3-2 lead in the third period before Jake Guentzel almost took it all away. With 21 seconds left in regulation, Guentzel tied things up when he knocked the puck out of midair at the left post.

“We win the game because we’ve got [expletive]. We do,” coach John Tortorella said. “We do stupid stuff. We don’t make some plays sometimes [and] lose sight of certain momentums in the games. A number of things we have to work on and try to get consistent at, but one thing we do have is [expletive].”

It was a special seven-minute stretch that helped fuel the Flyers win. Scott Laughton scored a shorthanded goal at 7 minutes and 1 second of the third period, before Tyson Foerster added a power-play marker at 13:52 to give the Flyers their first lead of the game.

After Nick Seeler cleared the puck off the glass, Laughton outraced Evgeni Malkin — who was on the ice for an almost three-minute shift. The Flyers alternate captain then outwaited Tristan Jarry before burying the puck to tie things up at two. With a yell that probably was heard back in Philadelphia, he snapped a 12-game goal drought with his second of the season.

“I almost blacked out,” Laughton said. “Been a little snake-bitten and finally found the chance there, and felt nice to be honest, especially when you start to get a little bit more minutes and get more opportunity, you want to do well and contribute as best as you can and felt really nice.”

Then with a revamped power play, it was Foerster who skated into the left circle and let go of an absolute laser to beat Jarry stick side. Foerster used to be the net-front guy for the Flyers’ power play unit, but was shifted to the left flank — the same spot he played with the Barrie Colts and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The move has reinvigorated the 21-year-old forward, who has three goals in two games, two of which have come with the man advantage.

“Yeah, the confidence is high,” said Foerster, whose scoring tear also includes the shootout winner against the Islanders. “I think I’ve been playing pretty good, but my linemates have been helping me a lot.”

A tenacious puck retriever who had been doing everything but scoring, Foerster has impressed his bench boss.

“People talk, ‘Why is Tyson in there? He hasn’t scored.’ We have watched the other part of his game and it just surprised how quickly that has come for a young man in the National Hockey League,” Tortorella said. “Another guy you can see his confidence. A long year, there’s gonna be some ups and downs with it, but we have watched him develop very quickly.”

Everyone’s calendar may have flipped to December, but don’t tell Sam Ersson.

The Flyers rookie goalie went 4-2-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average, .926 save percentage, and one shutout in November, earning a mention from the NHL for Rookie of the Month honors. Considering he went 0-1-1 with a 5.91 GAA and .760 save percentage in October, the tables have certainly turned.

And now he has four wins in a row, including two straight via shootout.

“I mean, for me, keep believing in myself,” Ersson said. “I’m the same goalie I was in October right now. So I know things go up and down during the season, it’s kind of the way things go. You know that’s the nature of the game, so we just gotta stick with it [and] kind of have confidence in myself, and in my game, and keep building.”

Added Tortorella: “I think he’s very confident. I think he’s got the right swagger. [He] started off slow but each game that he’s played, he’s played better and the past two shootouts he just looks that good.”

Although Ersson likes to face a lot of shots, there weren’t many to be had at the start of the game. The Flyers kept the Penguins to three shots in the first period and eight in the second, before the hometown team turned it up with 15 in the third. Ersson did see seven shots in overtime, but only one was during the Penguins power play after the Flyers were called for too many men with one minute to go.

The Flyers blocked 26 shots, too.

“I feel like a lot of the games I’ve been playing, have kind of been like that,” Ersson said. “We’ve been doing such a good job of keeping their shot score low and not letting pucks get through. So for me, it’s great, the guys are doing a hell of a job in front of me and it’s kind of up to me to say ready for when the puck gets through.”

Ersson did give up three goals, but two didn’t even come off the stick of a Pittsburgh player.

Facing a Penguins lineup that is littered with Hall of Famers but mired in the middle of the pack in goals per game, Kris Letang opened the scoring with a shot off Travis Sanheim. Then, with the game tied early in the third period, it was a Erik Karlsson shot that went in off the skate of Guentzel in front.

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Give Owen Tippett a second chance, and he rarely misses.

Just over a minute after he was stoned on a breakaway by Jarry, Tippett buried the puck with a sweet backhand.

Off a defensive zone faceoff loss, Tippett went out to the point before sprinting up the ice after Foerster intercepted a Karlsson pass attempt.

“I just saw that open lane and I just threw it up — it was kind of bad pass, I should have sprung him better but, you know, he’s a sick skater and he got up there and ended up scoring,” Foerster said.

Tippett now has eight goals on the season with his first since Nov. 18, the end of a stretch that featured five goals in four games.

Egor Zamula was back in the press box. Marc Staal took his spot next to Rasmus Ristolainen. ... Joel Farabee played 15:06 after being benched for the majority of Thursday night’s 4-3 overtime loss. ... Sean Couturier scored the shootout winner and Ersson stopped Bryan Rust to seal the win. ... The Flyers penalty kill continues to be a beast as they went 5-for-5. Although the Penguins power play has struggled, it still has the likes of Crosby and Co. but they were held to just six shots on goal across all five power plays. The Flyers blocked 11 shots while down a man.

The Keystone State rivalry shifts to Wells Fargo Center on Monday (7 p.m., NBCSP).