Matvei Michkov scored in overtime to give the host Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 comeback victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday afternoon.
Sean Couturier and Noah Cates scored third-period goals to erase a two-goal deficit. Goalie Aleksei Kolosov made 19 saves for his first NHL win as Philadelphia snapped a two-game skid.
During a four-on-three power play, Mitchkov slipped to the bottom of the right circle and converted Travis Konecny’s cross-ice feed 65 seconds into overtime for his seventh goal of the season and second overtime winner.
Konecny, who drew a holding penalty on Alex Vlasic in overtime, collected two assists.
Lukas Reichel and Pat Maroon both collected one goal and one assist for the Blackhawks and goalie Petr Mrazek sparkled with 34 stops.
After Mrazek kept the Flyers off the board despite a variety of chances, Reichel opened the scoring at 11:29 of the first by one-timing a cross-ice feed from Maroon for his second goal of the season.
Maroon doubled the lead just past the game’s midway point with his first of the season. Seconds after setting up a Reichel chance, Maroon found the mark with a backhand shot.
Couturier put the hosts on the board at 7:27 of the third. Scoring his fourth goal of the season, Couturier was set up at the doorstep and neatly redirected Rasmus Ristolainen’s pass.
Cates tied the clash at the 10:04 mark of the frame. During a flurry of action, he landed a long top-shelf effort for his first of the campaign.
The goalies were strong from the drop of the puck, especially Mrazek. He made a sprawling save on Scott Laughton during a first-period breakaway, stared down Garnet Hathaway midway through the second and provided a clutch diving stop on Ristolainen’s wraparound attempt seconds after the Flyers made it a 2-2 game.
Although not as busy as his counterpart, Kolosov stopped Ilya Mikheyev on a short-handed breakaway early in the second period and held the fort until his team could mount a comeback.
Chicago’s Connor Bedard, the 2023 first-overall draft pick and last season’s Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, was held off the scoresheet and is on a 12-game goal-scoring drought.
–Field Level Media
