PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A rapid rally Sunday night has given the Philadelphia Flyers a little more hope in their postseason push.
Travis Konecny tied it with 42.9 seconds left in the third period and Brayden Schenn scored 38 seconds into overtime, lifting the Flyers over the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Sunday night.
Jordan Staal scored a power-play goal with 8:11 left in the third to put Carolina ahead 3-2, but Konecny scored with Flyers goalie Steve Mason on the bench for an extra attacker, then Schenn ended it by finishing a rebound from close range.
“The players did a great job,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “They continued working. They stuck together and they stuck with it.”
Ivan Provorov had a goal and two assists and Dale Weise also scored for Philadelphia, which pulled within five points of idle Toronto for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers have 11 games remaining and would have to pass three teams for a postseason bid.
The Flyers now embark on a four-game road trip, beginning Tuesday at Winnipeg.
“If you lose that game heading on to the road trip, that probably wouldn’t have been much of a fun road trip,” Schenn said. “We have a lot to play for on this road trip. It’s going to give us some positive energy starting in Winnipeg.”
Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm also scored for Carolina, which is six points out of the playoffs. The Hurricanes have points (4-0-3) in each of their last seven games.
“It’s never a fun way to lose when you’re up with 30 seconds to go,” Staal said. “It’s nice to get a point but would have been better with two. They’re not easy to swallow, but there’s games coming up quick. So we are going to learn from it.”
Konecny tied it after Provorov’s shot from the point went to the back boards. Konecny sent the puck toward the net and it deflected off Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce and past goalie Cam Ward.
“Lucky bounce that gave us some life,” Schenn said of the goal. “Huge two points headed into the road trip.”
Staal scored after Sebastian Aho’s initial shot was stopped by Mason and the rebound went right to Lindholm. He made a close-range pass to Staal, who fired it past Mason’s left pad from just outside of the crease.
Mason made 19 saves to improve to 9-4-1 in 14 games against Carolina.
Provorov opened the scoring with 57.8 seconds left in the first period with a perfectly placed wrist shot that went over Ward’s right shoulder. It was the sixth goal of the season for the rookie, who entered leading the team in ice time by averaging 21:47 per contest.
Ward, returning to the net after backup Eddie Lack played the last two games, made 40 saves.
The Flyers took a 2-0 lead on Weise’s goal with 8:57 left in the second period. Konecny set it up by wheeling around to the far side of the net before sending the puck to the front of the crease. It came out to Weise, who shot high over Ward’s glove.
The Hurricanes scored the final two goals of the period to tie it at 2 heading to the third.
Skinner got his 26th of the season with 7:23 left in the period. Noah Hanifin sent a slap shot off the backboards to the other side of the net, where a wide-open Skinner beat a lunging Mason.
Lindholm extended his points streak to seven games with his ninth goal of the season with 1:04 left in the second. Phillip DiGiuseppe sent the puck to Lindholm, who fired a quick shot from the slot past Mason’s glove.
NOTES: Philadelphia D Brandon Manning (upper body) missed his fourth straight game. … Carolina LW Valentin Zykov (upper body) sat for the fifth consecutive contest, and C Jay McClement (lower body) missed his third straight. … The Flyers lead the season series 3-1. They each will close out their regular season when they meet for the final time on April 9 in Philadelphia. … The Hurricanes dropped to 9-17-9 on the road. … The Flyers improved to 12-9 in overtime while Carolina dropped to 6-13.
UP NEXT
Hurricanes: Play second game of four-game trip at Florida on Tuesday night.
Flyers: Open four-game trip at Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
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