Carter Yakemchuk scored a power-play goal with 6:59 left to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 home victory over the struggling Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
With the game tied at 1-1, Michael Bunting — playing his first game with Philadelphia — was whistled for hooking. Late in the power play, former Flyers star Claude Giroux set up Yakemchuk’s one-timer from the blue line that got through traffic and past Joseph Woll.
Nick Cousins, another former Flyer, scored the other goal for the Senators. Matvei Michkov tallied the only goal for Philadelphia, which has lost its first five games of the young campaign.
The Flyers controlled play in the offensive zone for most of the game’s final two minutes, including a lengthy stretch with an extra skater, but the visitors were unable to solve Linus Ullmark as the horn sounded.
Ullmark finished with 29 saves for Ottawa. Woll turned aside 24 shots for the Flyers.
The hosts opened the scoring midway through the first period on a goal by Cousins. Tyler Kleven took a shot from the blue line that ricocheted off Philadelphia forward Noel Acciari and Cousins before finding the back of the net.
That goal came slightly after the expiration of a penalty, although technically the Flyers killed off all four penalties they took in the opening session.
Michkov tied it up at 7:46 of the second period. With Philadelphia on the power play, Trevor Zegras took a shot that Ullmark appeared to save. However, the puck trickled through him and Michkov rammed it home, just as the whistle blew.
Shortly thereafter, Woll made a great glove save on Fabian Zetterlund.
Near the midpoint of the third period, the Flyers had a power play, including 27 seconds of 5-on-3 action. However, the best scoring chance of the man advantage was recorded by Ottawa, which nearly took the lead when Michael Amadio was denied by Woll on a breakaway.
Not long after that, Woll stopped a wide-open Zetterlund on the doorstep to preserve the tie, at least until Yakemchuk’s game-winner.
