Sean Couturier scores winner in overtime to lead Flyers over Penguins, 2-1

Let’s run it back.

After needing a shootout on Saturday night in Pittsburgh, the Flyers and Penguins again needed extra time to settle things.

And Flyers coach John Tortorella knew it would be a tough one. Sitting at the podium in Voorhees Monday morning, the bench boss stressed that the Flyers were not going to overthink things when facing their Keystone State rivals for the second time in 48 hours. He knew the Penguins, coached by a guy on his coaching tree, Mike Sullivan, with four Hall of Famers, would come out hard.

The Flyers were ready.

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Going toe-to-toe with the Penguins, Sean Couturier again called game.

“All year we haven’t really panicked and we’re confident in the way we play and we stuck with it,” Couturier said. “Tonight we came back and we got our bounces and it was a huge win.”

After scoring the shootout winner at PPG Paints Arena, he ended things with 66 seconds left in overtime for a 2-1 win. Breaking out 2-on-1 with Travis Konecny, Couturier ended things and sealed the Flyers’ second straight comeback win.

“Skating to the [defensive-zone] draw, I saw how they were lined up; their D was up against the wall for the faceoff and I had [Jake] Guentzel right next to me,” Travis Sanheim said. “So I yelled back at TK [and] said, ‘If we win this here, I’m going to rim it around. You should be able to beat him.’

“I wasn’t sure that Coots was actually going to beat [Sidney] Crosby up the ice, I thought more so that TK might have a chance to get a little bit of a break. So obviously a bonus to have the 2-on-1 and even better to end the game.”

Hearing his veterans called a set play left Tortorella impressed postgame.

“I don’t know if they had a huddle about it or whatever they did, but yeah, that’s kind of their responsibility, right? ... When you’re in those type of situations, your veteran guys need to lead the way,” Tortorella said. “... To hear that, that is really good and the young guys need to see that and understand that and I’m happy for them. But, you know what, it’s their responsibility and it’s good they got rewarded tonight on the winning goal.”

It’s officially official, Tyson Foerster is on a heater.

Locked up in a 1-0 game, the 21-year-old rookie got the puck in the neutral zone and dished it to the right boards for Konecny to pick up. The winger then sent the puck cross-ice to Foerster in the left circle, where he fired off a wrister that beat Alex Nedeljkovic stick side at 9 minutes, 46 seconds of the second period.

The youngster now has scored in three straight games (four goals). He has six points during a four-game streak. Although it doesn’t count, it all started with a shootout winner against the Islanders on Nov. 25. After doing all the little things right, he’s finally cashing in.

“He’s a goal scorer and I’m sure he was probably gripping the stick a little earlier in the year,” Couturier said. “But the way he plays, he plays the right way. He’s mature and the way he plays, he battles hard, wins a lot of battles.

“There’s a lot of little things that people maybe don’t notice, even if he’s not producing. But obviously, he wants to score goals and those kind of scorers once they get one it just unblocks everything else, and you can see the confidence he’s had for the last week or two.”

Foerster said he likes the left side of the ice on the power play, as he played there in Lehigh Valley and juniors with Barrie. Maybe the left winger should just hang on that side, regardless of the situation. After all, while his goal on Monday night was off the rush, it was in the same spot as his goal on Saturday night with the man advantage in the Flyers’ 4-3 shootout win in Pittsburgh.

“TK made a great play and that shot, I think, I pulled it in a little bit and the goalie didn’t really read off of it so I think it was just a good shot,” Foerster said.

Don’t give Crosby any space because he just doesn’t miss.

After Sanheim tried to pinch on a puck below the half-wall and got caught, Crosby and Guentzel broke out. With just Cam York the lone Flyers player back, Guentzel fed Crosby for the easy goal and his 125th point against the Flyers, the most of any Penguins player.

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Crosby now has 54 goals against the Flyers in his NHL career, with the goal at Wells Fargo bringing his career total to 565.

But it was the only goal the Penguins could muster as Carter Hart once again was calm, cool, and collected in net. He faced 30 shots in regulation, including six from high-danger spots, according to Natural Stat Trick.

In the second frame, Hart made three key stops in a row, beginning with a save on John Ludvig at 15:39 seconds before stopping Evgeni Malkin in the slot four seconds later and Reilly Smith’s rebound attempt. The Flyers were hemmed in on the shift and Sanheim was out there for a shift that lasted 3 minutes and 23 seconds. That came not long after a shift that lasted 2:13.

“When we couldn’t get out of the end zone there for a few minutes, [Hart] made probably six or seven great saves, there was a stretch three in a row. So yeah, it’s helped us here,” Tortorella said. “You know, coming back our goaltending has been good, [Sam Ersson] has been good, Carter has been good. So it’s given us an opportunity to stay in the game, and, you know, Hartsy has been doing that all year long. He’s been pretty consistent since the year started here.”

Rasmus Ristolainen got the secondary assist on Foerster’s goal for his first point of the season. The defenseman was playing in his fifth game after returning from an undisclosed lower-body injury. ... Cutter Gauthier was named to USA Hockey’s preliminary roster for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship on Monday. ... Louie Belpedio was placed on waivers Monday. Tortorella revealed on Friday the team will be recalling a forward before they start their road trip. ... The game marked the third straight extra-session affair for the Flyers, who are now 4-2 when needing more than 60 minutes. Couturier also scored the overtime game-winner against the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 18.

The Flyers head west on Tuesday to begin a three-game, eight-day roadie, kicking off with a Thursday matchup against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena (9 p.m. ET, NBCSP).