PHILADELPHIA _ You know you're on a certified roll when you play one of your worst periods in a couple of weeks, are thoroughly outplayed most of the night, and "still extend your winning streak.
Such is the state of Flyers hockey these days.
Jake Voracek, capitalizing on a Florida miscue, picked up a loose puck in front and scored with 8.6 seconds left in an electrifying overtime, giving the Flyers a 3-2 win over the Panthers at the reverberating Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night.
The Flyers had ragged first and third periods, but thanks to Voracek's heroics, Wayne Simmonds' two goals, and Steve Mason's sensational goaltending, they recorded their sixth straight victory, their longest winning streak since 2011.
Florida, playing its second game in as many nights and ending a grueling six-game, 11-day road trip, dominated most of the game as it outshot the Flyers, 44-25. The Panthers had a 17-4 shots advantage in the third period.
But Mason, the NHL's No. 1 star of the week Monday, stole another win.
Jussi Jokinen tied it at 2, converting a feed from Michael Matheson with 4:46 left in regulation. Mason had made numerous eye-opening, third-period saves before Jokinen's point-blank shot.
Simmonds had his second consecutive two-goal game. He has 15 goals, putting him tied for third in the NHL, and he leads the league with eight power-play goals, pending Tuesday's other results.
Fans around the league haven't noticed. In fan voting for the Metropolitan All-Stars, Simmonds is an afterthought. Despite being one of the NHL's elite power forwards the last five seasons, Simmonds has never been selected to an all-star team.
It would be appropriate if he made this season's team because the All-Star Game is in Los Angeles, the city where he started his career.
Simmonds tipped in Claude Giroux's left-circle drive to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead with 9:52 left in the second period. It was the 28th multiple-goal game of his career _ and his third power-play tally in the last two games.
Mason, making his 11th start in 12 games, stopped 42 of 44 shots, including a game-saver on Aaron Ekblad with 1:57 left in overtime. He made a sprawling stop on Jokinen's rebound with about 14 minutes left and the Flyers clinging to a 2-1 lead. It was his best save of the night and arguably the season.
The 28-year-old goaltender kept the Flyers in the game during their listless first period. They were second to pucks, badly outshot (15-6), and looked out of sync for most of the 20 minutes.
So it was a moral victory that they headed into the second period tied at 1. Somehow.
Mason was sharp, and Simmonds tied it by scoring from just inside the blue line with 2:53 remaining in the first and the teams playing four on four.
James Reimer, Florida's backup goalie, whiffed trying to catch Simmonds' long drive, which was fired with two defensemen near him.
"I think the puck hit the top of one of their defenseman's sticks. It was a lucky goal," Simmonds said.
Simmonds said the Flyers continually turned the puck over in the neutral zone in the first period because they were "trying to go for home-run plays. We have to have five-man units close together."
Injury-plagued Florida ended a 1-2-3 road trip, one in which head coach Gerard Gallant was curiously fired and replaced by Tom Rowe.
