PHILADELPHIA _ After two sluggish periods, the Flyers awakened Thursday night and made goalie Petr Mrazek a winner in his debut with his new team.
Mrazek, acquired from Detroit on Monday, was superb, and Claude Giroux and blossoming rookie Nolan Patrick scored third-period goals as the surging Flyers rallied past Columbus, 2-1, before a surprisingly sparse crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.
The win moved the Flyers into a second-place tie with Pittsburgh and increased their points streak to 10 games (8-0-2).
Columbus had been 18-2-2 when taking a lead into the third period before the Flyers overcame a 1-0 deficit in the final 20 minutes.
The Flyers had been 2-14-3 when trailing after two.
With 10:11 remaining in regulation, Patrick snapped a 1-1 tie by scoring on a rebound while the Flyers were on a power-play. In the last two games, Patrick has replaced the injured Wayne Simmonds on the top power-play unit. He has scored a power-play tally in each game, and he has a goal in each of the last three contests.
Giroux's 21st goal of the season knotted the score at 2-all with 17:26 left in the third period. Sean Couturier's pass deflected off a Blue Jacket and caromed to the hustling Giroux (two points), who fired a slot shot over Sergei Bobrovsky's left shoulder.
About four minutes later, Mrazek (19 saves, many of them outstanding) stopped Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson from in close.
Columbus dominated the second period and took a 1-0 lead after a miscue by Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov.
Provorov, at the left point in the offensive end, had his pass to Andrew MacDonald intercepted by Artemi Panarin, who had just come out of the penalty box.
Panarin went in on a two on one and beat Mrazek with a right-circle shot to the right side, gibing the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead with 7:09 left in the second period.
Before the goal, it did not appear Mrzaek banged his stick on the ice to warn his new teammates that the penalty was almost over.
Mrazek made three difficult second-period stops on Alexander Wennberg, and denied Atkinson and Scott Harrington from close range.
If the first period was any indication, Mrazek probably thought playing for the Flyers was going to be a proverbial day at the beach.
Mrazek, who allowed one goal or fewer in six of his last 10 games with the Red Wings, had to face just two shots in a scoreless first period.
The Flyers had a handful of good first-period chances against their ex-teammate, Bobrovksy, but the player they call "Bob," was flawless. Giroux had the Flyers' best early chance, going in alone after a Dubois turnover, but Bobrovsky denied him.
He also displayed his great side-to-side quickness by stopping Jake Voracek while the Flyers were on a power play.
"We've got to get more traffic in front of him," said right winger Michael Raffl, who moved from the third line to the top unit, replacing the injured Travis Konecny. "He's a pretty good goalie and you have to take his eyes away from him."
Jordan Weal was called for interference with 5:19 left in the opening period. It marked the first time in four games the Flyers had allowed a power play. They tied a league record by going three straight games without allowing a power play, according to the NHL, which started keeping such records in 1977.
Shayne Gostisbehere had a pair of assists as the Flyers improved to a stunning 24-8-3 since ending their 10-game winless skid in early December.
