Flyers secure victory over Montreal Canadiens in shootout, 3-2

The Flyers ended their home stand on a high note, completing a comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2.

The Canadiens’ first two shots on net went past Sam Ersson, but the Flyers battled back to tie the game in the second period. From there, the game remained deadlocked through overtime and headed to a shootout to settle things.

Sean Couturier scored on the Flyers’ first attempt, and then Ersson turned aside Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Jesse Ylonen to give the Flyers the victory. The Flyers picked up their first win after going down by two goals this season.

“We battled hard for most of the night,” Couturier said. “Even when we were down 2-0, those were really their only two chances, or lucky bounces they got. We were controlling the play pretty well, and just stuck to it.”

Jamie Drysdale nabbed his first point as a Flyer in his first game on the team, with a power play assist on Morgan Frost’s game-tying goal.

“It was a mix of butterflies and excitement, and kind of just wondering how it’s going to go,” Drysdale said. “You hear Philly’s a great sports city, hockey city — and you don’t really know until you actually experience it.”

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The Canadiens got on the board less than two minutes into the game. Justin Barron’s shot from the point was tipped past Ersson by Sean Monahan, catching the Swedish netminder off guard.

The hole got even deeper minutes later with a similar sequence. David Savard’s slap shot bounced off Frost in front of the Flyers’ net, and ended up behind Ersson. Neither goal was particularly sophisticated, but they put the Flyers in a deficit they had yet to overcome this season.

Though the scoreboard didn’t reflect it, the Flyers largely controlled the pace of play in the first period, outshooting Montreal 10-2. With Tyson Foerster sent off for tripping, the Flyers held Montreal without a shot on net. The Flyers’ “power kill” had its own chance when Ryan Poehling broke away shorthanded, but he was turned aside by Montreal goalie Cayden Primeau.

“Montreal plays hard. They find a way to stay in games,” said Flyers coach John Tortorella. “I liked the speed of our game. And that was the most important thing for the coaches, is just to get back to our checking, to allow us to get the puck to go north as quick as possible. And I thought we did it fairly consistently tonight.”

After several near-misses, the Flyers got one back with Owen Tippett’s 14th goal of the year. A pass from Couturier intended for Travis Konecny in the crease was deflected wide right to the waiting stick of Tippett, who scored from a sharp angle.

While Montreal had all the puck luck in the world at first, the Flyers didn’t have much. There were multiple scrambles in front of the Canadiens’ net in the first period, but the puck never crossed the goal line. Another scramble in the second period left the puck sitting in the crease behind Primeau, as Joel Farabee and Couturier whacked at it. While Farabee fell and ended up in the Canadiens’ net, the puck somehow did not.

Drysdale took the ice at Wells Fargo for the first time after the Monday night trade that brought him over from Anaheim. He partnered with Travis Sanheim, and received loud cheers from the home crowd when his name was announced in the starting lineup, when he touched the puck for the first time, and after he laid a hit on Juraj Slafkovsky in the first period.

“That was pretty awesome,” Drysdale said. “I mean, I didn’t see it coming. I haven’t heard a crowd that loud. It’s pretty cool to play in front of them.”

The Flyers organization brought Drysdale’s parents to Philadelphia to see his debut.

Following a delay of game penalty to Montreal in the second period, Drysdale got his first look on the power play. He made an impression in his very first shift. The defenseman passed the puck laterally to Frost, who wired a shot by Primeau to tie the game at 2.

“He’s a candidate to be a rover, not a defenseman, a rover,” Tortorella said. “Just because he’s just on top of the ice, the way he skates.”

The Flyers’ power play, which ranks second-to-last in the NHL, has now scored in three consecutive games.

“You can’t be satisfied,” Couturier said. “We’ve got to start all over next game and and keep it rolling. Obviously, we seem to be starting to find a little more chemistry and kind of create some plays and chances, guys know where they are. It’s a lot more fun these days than it was earlier in the year, that’s for sure.”

After faltering early, Ersson redeemed himself by saving the next 17 shots the Canadiens put on net, plus their three attempts in the shootout.

“For myself, I put this win in the mentally strong file,” Ersson said. “It’s hard to start a game like that, but it happens and you got to deal with it. And I think I did a good job. The team did a great job.”

Montreal came out firing in the third period, but the Flyers had several chances of their own. Tippett had the opportunity to take the lead alone in the slot, but rang it off the post, while Drysdale had a wrist shot blocked by a Canadiens player minutes later.

Ersson made a pad save on a Josh Anderson breakaway to preserve the stalemate. Neither side was able to break through, and the Flyers went past regulation for the 13th time this season. The Flyers had plenty of looks in overtime, but Primeau stood on his head.

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The Flyers head to Minnesota on Friday to take on the Wild (8 p.m., NBCSP).