Flyers snap losing skid with 2-1 win over Senators and former captain Claude Giroux

OTTAWA, Ontario ― Despite the “weirdness” of facing off against their longtime captain Claude Giroux, the Flyers overcame penalties, sloppiness and emotions to beat Giroux and the Ottawa Senators, 2-1, snapping a three-game skid.

It took little time for the reality that Giroux isn’t a Flyer to sink in. As soon as Travis Konecny turned the puck over, Giroux passed it up the ice, raced towards goalie Carter Hart and scored the first goal just 2 minutes, 44 seconds into the game.

It was Giroux’s 300th career goal, and Senators fans and Flyers fans alike celebrated the occasion. But it signaled to his former teammates that once again they were starting out behind.

» READ MORE: Former Flyers captain Claude Giroux reunited with old teammates and ‘didn’t really miss a beat’

“He’s a great friend and I’m happy he scored 300,” said Kevin Hayes. “I wish it wasn’t against us or to take the lead.”

Hayes’ power-play goal at 5:17 of the first period evened the score, but the Flyers still struggled to find their game in the opening period.

By the second, they started to warm up . Long minutes on the penalty kill prevented the Flyers from building momentum, but they still managed to even out the shot deficit from 11-5 in the first to leading 22-21 after the second. They even engaged in some shoving with their former captain.

However, the Flyers struggled in the offensive zone until Nick Seeler’s big shot block set up a strong possession in the final minutes of the second. While Seeler limped off the ice, his teammates took the rebound from his block down the ice. The Flyers kept the puck in the Senators’ end for over a minute before Zack MacEwen scored the go-ahead.

With Hart stopping 33-of-34 shots, the Flyers held on despite a late push by the Senators, led in part by Giroux, who played almost 20 minutes.

“I guess we won, and [Giroux] got his 300, so happy for him,” Hayes said.

On the first power play, Hayes won the faceoff, knocking it to Tony DeAngelo at the point. DeAngelo paused then shot, and Hayes deflected it into the goal just five seconds into the power play.

The power play quickly cooled after the first. On the second, the Senators kept clearing the puck until MacEwen took a penalty. The Flyers got off just one shot. They didn’t do much on their third power play either.

The penalty kill was much steadier despite being on the ice for long minutes. Thanks to a few Senators mistakes, the Flyers held Ottawa to seven shots on goal across five power plays.

When the behind-the-back passes worked, they looked super cool. But on the more frequent misses, they were frustrating head-smackers. Coach John Tortorella certainly appeared to think so. Following a series where Konecny tried to pull a number of fancy moves, Tortorella went over and had a few words with him. He did the same after Wade Allison had a particularly bad turnover.

Many of the Flyers, veterans and young players alike, showed a carelessness with the puck through the first two periods. Several turnovers lead to breakaways, but Hart stood strong.

Their sloppiness was also offset by the Senators’ struggles. They, too, made bad passes and whiffed on pucks. As a result, there was a back-and-forth with the two teams trying to capitalize on each other’s mistakes and their goalies bailing them out.

However, the Flyers started playing Tortorella’s way in the third, and he said he was pleased with their progress.

Last season, MacEwen had nine points and just three goals across 75 games as he grinded on the Flyers’ fourth line. The hard-hitting forward returned the next season only to get cut by the new coach out of training camp.

By the third game, Tortorella decided to bring him back because he thought MacEwen showed an upward trend. The two of them had a “pointed” conversation, and ever since, MacEwen has paid back that confidence.

“I’ve kind of just been like that my whole career,” MacEwen said. “Ever since junior, just get an opportunity, I’ve kind of elevated my game.”

Nine games in, MacEwen has already equaled his goals from last season. At four points, he’s also almost halfway to his total points from last season.

MacEwen’s kept up his gritty play despite moving up from the fourth line, and his effort helped him score the go-ahead goal in the second. He attempted a shot through traffic, which was quickly stopped, but he followed it and scored on the second shot.

The Flyers will host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday at 8 p.m.