PHILADELPHIA _ Travis Konecny's wraparound goal in overtime saved the Flyers from a colossal collapse. Konecny's goal, his second of the game, with 3 minutes, 33 seconds left in overtime, gave the Flyers a 6-5 win over the Detroit Red Wings during a Saturday matinee game at Wells Fargo Center.
Leading 5-1, the Flyers then surrendered four third-period goals. Anthony Manatha's one-timer from the right slot with seven seconds left in regulation tied the score at five, sending the game into overtime.
The Flyers are now 11-1-1 in their last 13 games. They began the day eight points behind Pittsburgh for the second wild card spot, but with the Penguins 5-4 loss to Calagary, the gap is now six points.
Carter Hart earned the win in what wasn't the best game for him or the Flyers defense on the day the Flyers acquired goaltender Cam Talbot from Edmonton for goalie Anthony Stolarz. Talbot has been a mentor toward Hart and when he makes his debut, the Flyers will set an unwanted NHL record _ eight goalies in a season.
The Flyers scored two goals within a minute's span early in the third period to seemingly put the game away. Jake Voracek scored on a backhanded rebound and then Nolan Patrick tapped in a rebound of own his blocked shot, making it 5-1 with 18:36 left in the third period. For Voracek, it increased his scoring streak to nine games, with four goals and seven assists.
After Patrick's goal, the Red Wings pulled goalie Jimmy Howard, replacing him with Jonathan Bernier.
Detroit quickly got back into the game when Tyler Bertuzzi and Thomas Vanek answered with goals within a minute's span. Vanek's made it 5-3 with 16:37 left.
When Mantha deflected a Danny Dekeyser shot to make it 5-4 with 11:24 left, the Wells Fargo crowd got uneasy. It got worse when Mantha forced overtime.
The Flyers scored two goals in a span of a little over a minute early in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Konecny made it 2-1 by scoring a power-play goal. He took a pass from Ivan Provorov and using defenseman Niklas Kronwall as a screen, sent a wrist shot from the top of the right circle for his 16th goal.
Scott Laughton made it 3-1 with 15:58 left in the second period. Wayne Simmonds sent a pass from the right circle to Laughton, whose left circle wrist shot beat Howard for his eighth goal. He had gone the previous 26 games without a goal.
"It felt good," Laughton said about ending his slump. "When you're getting chances and the pucks aren't going in it kind of weighs on you. It's been a pretty long time since the last one. It feels good to get one but more importantly we're up and we're playing good hockey."
Shayne Gostisbehere opened the scoring with 15:26 left in the first period.
Patrick calmly held the puck until finding Gostisbehere at the left circle. The Flyers defenseman then sent a wrist shot that beat Howard for his sixth goal of the season. He had gone the previous 17 games without a goal.
Detroit, which entered the contest 27th in the NHL in scoring, averaging 2.76 goals per game, tied it on Gustav Nyquist's deflection with 5:53 left in the first period.
The Flyers failed to clear the puck and from the top of the right circle, Bertuzzi spun around and sent a long pass on net. Nyquist was at the left post to tap it in for his 15th goal of the season.
