Ivan Provorov nets the game-winner in OT as the Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks in their season finale

CHICAGO — On Thursday night at the United Center, a long, listless 2022-23 Flyers season refused to come to a prompt end. Because of course it did.

The Flyers blew a pair of two-goal leads (2-0 in the first period, 4-2 in the second period) and went to overtime in their final contest of the year against the Chicago Blackhawks. Andreas Athanasiou tied the game, 4-4, with two minutes remaining in the third period. But defenseman Ivan Provorov scored in overtime with a deke around Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones to help the Flyers emerge victorious, 5-4.

“Ivan, I don’t know how he made that move when he was that close to the goaltender,” assistant coach Darryl Williams said. “But very exciting finish.”

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In the final game of his career, 13-year veteran Justin Braun racked up 20 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time and even was featured on the top power-play unit, but he fell short of registering his 200th career point. However, the Flyers saw another player accomplish an impressive milestone — winger Travis Konecny scored twice in the first period for his 30th and 31st goals of the season. He reached the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career.

In his last game as a Blackhawk, longtime captain Jonathan Toews cut the deficit to 3-2 when he scored seven seconds into their second-period power play.

Goalie Felix Sandström finished with 34 saves on 38 shots.

Despite missing 22 games because of injury, Konecny has seen a surge in production this season, averaging a career-high .97 points going into Thursday. He was on the hunt to score 30 goals, and it didn’t take him long to get there. Just 26 seconds into the first period, Morgan Frost got the Flyers going on the rush after a Konecny wall battle in the defensive zone. He dished a backhanded pass to Konecny, who scored that 30th goal to put the Flyers up, 1-0.

But he wasn’t finished. Roughly six minutes later, Konecny won another puck battle along the wall in the offensive zone, feeding Frost at the front of the net. Alex Stalock made the initial save on Frost’s shot, but he couldn’t control the rebound. Konecny collected the loose puck and scored to put the Flyers ahead, 2-0. Konecny finished with two goals, an assist, and six shots.

“That was a personal goal of mine,” Konecny said of reaching the milestone. “And credit to the guys I played with all year. I mean, a lot of the goals, if you go back, are just putting it in an empty net, and that’s always credit to your teammates. So it was nice.”

The Flyers jumped to a two-goal lead in the first period but quickly gave it up as the Blackhawks pounced on rebounds. Defenseman Nick Seeler blocked a shot from Connor Murphy at the blue line, but the Flyers failed to collect the loose puck. Instead, Blackhawks winger Jujhar Khaira found the puck and lifted it on his backhand to cut the Flyers’ lead to one.

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The Blackhawks tied the game in the first period when winger Anders Bjork scored on a rebound, the initial shot bouncing off of Sandström’s pad. But the Flyers weren’t the only ones who struggled to close out defensively. The Blackhawks handed the Flyers the lead in the second period when defenseman Seth Jones turned the puck over to winger Owen Tippett, who cashed in on a wide-open net to put the Flyers up, 3-2. The Flyers then took another two-goal lead when Noah Cates scored a power-play goal.

Thursday night was a family affair for Braun, as he welcomed nearly 15 friends and family members to Chicago for the final game of his career. One of those guests helped make the night extra special — Braun’s father, Paul, stood behind the bench with the Flyers’ coaches during the first period.

Throughout the night, the Flyers tried to help Braun earn his 200th career point. He ran the point on the power play, where he hasn’t been used in earnest since his 2015-16 season with the San Jose Sharks. While Braun was on the ice for Cates’ power-play goal, he did not pick up an assist. He finished with one shot on goal. Konecny argued that Braun deserved a secondary assist on his first goal of the night.

“It didn’t really hit me until Provy scored,” Braun said. “That’s it. It was an amazing run.”

The Flyers hold their exit interviews with the media starting Friday with players and continuing on Monday with coach John Tortorella and interim general manager Danny Brière.