Flyers Point Streak Ends With Messy 3rd Period

Report From Philadelphia Flyers

* The Flyers had a nine-game point streak snapped with their loss tonight – It was their first regulation loss since January 19 at NYI.

* The Flyers recorded a season-high 44 shots with five different players recording four shots or more, and 16 of 18 skaters on the Flyers recorded at least one shot… The Flyers also had a total of 85 shot attempts, compared to 38 for Columbus.

* Ryan White had an assist, was credited with 10 hits, and won all three faceoffs he took… White has three assists in nine games since returning from injury.

* Claude Giroux went 13-for 21 (62 percent) on faceoffs.

GAME RECAP

PHILADELPHIA — Matt Calvert’s tiebreaking goal midway through the third period helped the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.

Calvert had two goals, and Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets. Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist, James Wisniewski also scored and Curtis McElhinney made 42 saves.

Michael Del Zotto had a goal and an assist for the Flyers (24-23-10), and Wayne Simmonds also scored for Philadelphia, which had a season-high 44 shots on goal. Ray Emery finished with 24 saves.

The loss was the Flyers’ first in regulation since Jan. 19. They had picked up points their previous nine games (6-0-3).

The Blue Jackets (25-28-3) led 2-0 after one period, but the Flyers had rallied to tie the game with two goals late in the second period. However, Calvert took advantage of poor play by the Flyers in their zone to score the winner just before the midway point of the third.

Seconds after Calvert was robbed by Emery right in front, the Flyers tried breaking the puck out. But Vincent Lecavalier‘s pass was behind teammate Chris VandeVelde and right on the stick of Dubinsky. He found Cam Atkinson for a 2-on-0 down low, and Atkinson threaded a pass through the slot to Calvert, who scored his eighth of the season at 9:54.

Dubinsky made it 4-2 when he scored his sixth of the season at 13:28. Scott Hartnell, who had two assists, broke the puck out of the Columbus zone and sent a low shot from the left side on goal that Emery stopped with his glove, but the puck bounced out and Dubinsky knocked it in. It’s Dubinsky’s third straight game with a goal, tying his career-best streak.

The two-point night extended Hartnell’s point streak to seven games; he has three goals and seven assists in that span.

Philadelphia controlled the second period, tying a season-high with 20 shots on goal in the period and tying the game with two goals 1:45 apart in the final 2:35 of the period.

Simmonds got the Flyers on the board when he skated into the right circle to redirect a Del Zotto point shot. The puck dropped and bounced between the skates of VandeVelde in front and went between McElhinney’s pads.

“We did a great job down low,” Simmonds said. “Vandy [VandeVelde] and Delly [Del Zotto] did a heck of a job of getting the puck up high. [Luke Schenn] went over to Delly and Delly took the shot. I tipped it and there was like three bodies in front of the net and luckily it went in.”

It was Simmonds’ 22nd goal of the season and fourth in five games.

Del Zotto’s sixth goal of the season, with 51.5 seconds left in the period, tied the game. R.J. Umberger‘s shot from the right side was stopped by McElhinney, but the rebound went to the left side. A pinching Del Zotto skated into a one-timer that beat McElhinney to the short side, over his blocker, with the stick of Brayden Schenn obscuring the goaltender’s vision.

“I put it on net and it bounced back out,” Del Zotto said. “I think there was a lot of traffic there. I just shot the puck as hard as I could. [Brayden Schenn] had great traffic so I don’t think the goalie saw it. It was a big goal for us.”

The Blue Jackets opened the scoring with goals on back-to-back shots 1:48 apart early in the first period.

Wisniewski gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 4:51. Alexander Wennberg got the puck below the goal line to the right of the net and stepped in front. He swiped a backhander that Emery stopped, but the puck bounced to Wisniewski in the right circle, and he one-timed the puck past Emery for his seventh of the season.

Johansen made it 2-0 at 6:39 when David Savard’s shot from the right point bounced off Corey Tropp in front and then off Johansen on the post on the left side. A video review upheld the call on the ice.