Flyers Stretch Streak to 5, Defeat Blue Jackets

In the middle of the second period, the Flyers were killing a penalty when they turned a shorthanded situation into offense. A 2-on-0 for Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway led to a shorthanded goal for Poehling, his second of the season and the Flyers' fifth shorthanded goal to take the league lead.

That proved to be the game-winning goal, as the Flyers stretched their winning streak to five games with a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers got on the board first at 5:11. Joel Farabee got control of the puck entering the zone, worked to open space and fired a backhand that beat Spencer Martin to make it 1-0 with his seventh goal of the season.

With just under five minutes to play in the first, the Blue Jackets tied the game. On a delayed penalty call, Sean Kuraly fed Alexandre Texier with a pass and Texier fired a shot past Sam Ersson to even the score at one.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 11-9 Flyers.

Just 1:05 into the second period, the Flyers got a power play. Six seconds later, they had the lead again.

Bobby Brink, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games, fired a shot from the left circle to make it 2-1 with his fourth of the season at 1:11.

At 6:38, as the Flyers were killing a penalty, they struck again for a shorthanded goal. Sean Walker forced a turnover and got the puck ahead for a 2-on-0 with Poehling and Hathaway. Poehling took the eventual shot that went under the pad of Martin. After a review, the goal was confirmed, giving the Flyers a 3-1 lead.

The Flyers continued to apply pressure late in the second, but the Blue Jackets would find a way to cut into the lead before the period ended. Ivan Provorov, in his return to Philadelphia after being traded in the offseason, put a shot on net into heavy traffic that found its way through off Boone Jenner, making it a 3-2 game with 2:03 left in the period.

Through two periods, the Flyers had a 22-16 lead in shots.

For most of the third period, the Blue Jackets controlled play in search of the tying goal. The Flyers were held without a shot for nearly 12 minutes.

Their second shot of the period was at the 12:40 mark and it was a thing of beauty. From an angle, Travis Konecny went top shelf on Martin for his 11th goal of the season to make it a 4-2 game.

With under three minutes to play, the Flyers iced the game as Cam York found the empty net to make it 5-2 with his second goal of the season.

Ersson finished the game with 20 saves on 22 shots in the win. Martin made 21 saves on 25 shots in the loss.

Poehling had a three-point game. Farabee, York, and Walker each had two points.

The Flyers next take the ice on Wednesday night to face the New York Islanders at 7:30 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Joel Farabee (7) (Ryan Poehling, Cam York) 5:11
• CBJ Alexandre Texier (4) (Sean Kuraly, Mathieu Olivier) 15:02

2nd Period

• PHI Bobby Brink (4) PP (Sean Walker, Farabee) 1:11
• PHI Poehling (2) SH (Garnet Hathaway, Walker) 6:38
• CBJ Ivan Provorov (2) (Boone Jenner, Johnny Gaudreau) 17:57

3rd Period

• PHI Travis Konecny (11) (Louie Belpedio) 12:40
• PHI York (2) EN (Poehling) 17:34

Game Statistics

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.