Flyers Beat Bruins 5-4 In OT
BOSTON -- The Philadelphia Flyers roared from behind with two goals in the third period and then scored in overtime to beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Center Claude Giroux started the comeback in the third then scored a power-play goal with 2:51 left in the the extra period as the Flyers ended a six-game losing streak against the Bruins -- beating Boston for only fifth time in their last 20 meetings.
Right winger Wayne Simmonds tied the game with his first goal of the season with 9:36 left in regulation with center Ryan Spooner off for hooking.
The loss kept the Bruins (2-3-1) winless in four home games, with goaltender Tuukka Rask allowing 19 goals in the four games.
The Flyers (3-2-1) lost goaltender Michael Neuvirth and center Sean Couturier to upper-body injuries after the first period.
Couturier was flattened by former teammate Zac Rinaldo. He didn't return and the Flyers opened the second period without a shot on the ensuing five-minute power play after Rinaldo's major penalty and ejection. Boston left winger Chris Kelly actually scored shorthanded to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
Neuvirth, who was hunched over for several seconds after allowing Boston's second goal with 2:36 of the first period, didn't return for the second and was replaced by Steve Mason.
Mason stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced.
Boston center Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist in the first period and the Bruins scored three straight goals to turn a 2-1 first-period deficit into a 4-2 lead after two.
Bergeron has seven points in the first six games of the season.
Right winger Jakub Voracek, who set up the winner, assisted on both Giroux goals while right winger Loui Ericsson had two assists for Boston.
After Bergeron tied the game at 2-2, Kelly untied it and right winger Jimmy Hayes made it 4-2.
Left winger Pierre-Edward Bellemare and center Sam Gagner also scored for the Flyers.
The Flyers delivered heavy pressure early, but the Bruins also had their chances before Bellemare converted his own rebound for his first goal of the season.
The Bruins got that back when Connolly knocked home a Bergeron rebound. That goal ended a shutout streak of 145:33 for Neuvirth.
The Bruins were caught on a change and Gagner used defenseman Kevan Miller as a screen and beat Rask at 15:04 of the first period for a 2-1 lead.
Bergeron swatting a rebound out of the air for his fourth goal of the year to tie the score 2-2 before the first intermission.
NOTES: Bruins LW Zac Rinaldo, a former Flyer, received a five-minute major and game misconduct for charging C Sean Couturier near the end of the first period -- a hit to the head that will surely be examined by the league. ... Bruins C Patrice Bergeron missed the morning skate after his wife gave birth to their first child, a boy. The new dad was back in time for the game. ... Bruins LW Matt Beleskey was out with an upper-body injury. ... Flyers C Brayden Schenn was out of the lineup with a shoulder injury, but his brother, D Luke Schenn, was back after three games as a healthy scratch. LW R.J. Umberger returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. ... The Flyers begin a three-game homestand against the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Bruins visit the New York Islanders on Friday night.