Garnet Hathaway batted in a rebound with 22 seconds left as the visiting Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.
The Flyers, who snapped Florida’s six-game win streak, also got a goal from Ryan Poehling and 29 saves from Samuel Ersson.
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who leads the Eastern Conference with 31 wins, stopped the original shot by Marc Staal, but Hathaway got in behind him for the go-ahead goal.
Bobrovsky, who finished with 24 saves, has allowed two or fewer goals in 12 straight games. He is 19-7-1 in his career against the Flyers.
Despite the loss, it was a big night for Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling, who scored a goal in his first game since signing an eight-year extension reportedly worth $46 million.
Travis Konecny, who leads Philadelphia in goals (27) and points (54), returned after missing six consecutive games due to an upper-body injury. He had no points Thursday as he was stopped by Bobrovsky on a first-period breakaway.
Prior to Konecny’s injury, he had produced at least one point in seven straight games, totaling five goals and seven assists in that span.
Forward Vladimir Tarasenko, acquired in a trade with Ottawa on Wednesday, made his Panthers debut.
After a scoreless first period, it took just 10 seconds left for the Flyers to score as Poehling skated past Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad and scored from point-blank range.
The Panthers tied the score 1-1 on Forsling’s goal from the point with 12:48 left in the second.
Philadelphia nearly took the lead late in the third, but Bobrovsky stopped a Sean Couturier shot.
Ultimately, the Flyers got the goal they needed for their second 2-1 win over the Panthers within the past month.
With 18 games left, the Flyers have 74 points — just one short of their total from all of last season.
–Field Level Media
