National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Philadelphia 4, Detroit 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Brian Murphy, Jonny Murray
Attendance: 19309

PHILADELPHIA -- Sixty-four seconds away from ending a 20-year curse in Philadelphia, the Detroit Red Wings saw the Flyers roar back for a 4-3 overtime victory Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

"They're a good team and we sat back a little bit and they made us pay," Red Wings defenseman Mike Green said.

The Red Wings have now lost 12 straight regular season games in Philadelphia dating back to Jan. 25, 1997, the first year of the Flyers' 20-year-old arena.

Flyers right winger Jake Voracek ended an exhausting shift by hustling down the ice and depositing center Claude Giroux's pass behind Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek to give the Flyers the win 1:41 into overtime.

"I was tired but I think (Red Wings center Gustav) Nyquist was tired as well, backchecking," Voracek said of his sixth goal of the season and first game-winner. "I figured it was going to be a 2-on-1 and when you're with (Giroux) you gotta expect that pass."

"I thought I had it," said Mrazek, who stopped 36 shots in the loss to fall to 4-3-1. "It was a nice shot by Voracek."

The Flyers sent the game into overtime when defenseman Mark Streit scored with 1:04 remaining in regulation and goalie Michal Neuvirth pulled for an extra attacker. Streit jammed a Brayden Schenn rebound past Mrazek after Schenn was pushed into Mrazek by Detroit forward Frans Nielsen.

"Someone bumped (Schenn) a little bit and he just jumped on me," Mrazek said. "There was nothing I could do. I couldn't even move."

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill challenged the call on the ice but replays showed that Schenn had been pushed into Mrazek.

"I thought it was goalie interference so I challenged it," Blashill said. "I disagreed with the ruling but I don't make that decision, they do.

Center Chris VandeVelde and left winger Roman Lyubimov each scored their first goals of the season for the Flyers (5-5-1), who have won two in a row.

Red Wings veteran left winger Henrik Zetterberg scored his first goal of the season 8:18 into the third period to give the Red Wings the lead. Centers Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou also scored for the Red Wings (6-4-1), who lost for the third straight game.

Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth stopped 22 shots to improve to 3-1-0.

After the Flyers tied the score 3:51 into the third period on Lyubimov's first NHL goal (on his 11th NHL shot), Zetterberg put the Red Wings ahead when he took a perfectly timed pass from left winger Tomas Tatar and snapped a shot past Neuvirth's catching glove.

Zetterberg's goal was his first since March 17 of last season, a span of 21 games.

The Red Wings received a scare with 4:40 remaining in the second period when defenseman Brendan Smith left the game after taking an elbow to the head by Schenn. The hit was not penalized and Smith returned for the start of the third period and played the remainder of the game.

The Red Wings netted goals 16 seconds apart to take a 2-0 lead.

Larkin, who scored 23 goals as a rookie last season, opened the scoring 13:15 into the game when he snapped a long wrist shot off Voracek and behind Neuvirth. The goal was Larkin's fourth of the season, one behind team leader Gustav Nyquist.

While fans were still watching the replay of Larkin's goal on the scoreboard, the Red Wings struck again on their next shot. Athanasiou carried the puck into the offensive zone and froze Neuvirth with a short-side shot under the crossbar for his third goal of the season.

"It's frustrating, but you can't hang your head and be disappointed," Voracek said of the Flyers' early deficits. "You have to go back to work and forget about it."

The Flyers are 2-1-1 when trailing after two periods.

"It's a simple fact," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "It's tough to do. We've been able to do it a couple times but it's not a position you want to be in."

The Flyers dominated the second period, outshooting the Red Wings 17-6, and drew within 2-1 when VandeVelde scored his first goal of the season with 6:21 remaining. It was VandeVelde's first NHL goal since Dec. 21, 2015, against the St. Louis Blues.

NOTES: Flyers D Michael Del Zotto (left knee), LW Scott Laughton (left knee), LW Michael Raffl (upper body) and C Boyd Gordon sat out with injuries. ... For the Red Wings, LW Thomas Vanek (groin injury), RW Johan Franzen (out for season, concussion), C Joe Vitale (concussion), D Niklas Kronwall (knee) and RW Tomas Jurco (back) were unavailable. ... As part of Hockey Fights Cancer Night, the Flyers wore lavender jerseys during warmups. C Sean Couturier filled out a placard before the game saying he was fighting for his aunt, Nathalie, who began breast cancer treatments last week. ... The Flyers will visit the New York Islanders on Thursday. ... Detroit returns home to play the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   Philadelphia
Andreas Athanasiou 1 Points Mark Streit 2
Andreas Athanasiou 1 Goals Mark Streit 1
Justin Abdelkader 1 Assists Brayden Schenn 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Petr Mrazek .900 Save Percentage Michal Neuvirth .880
Petr Mrazek 36 Saves Michal Neuvirth 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Detroit 25 3 0-1 1-1 9 28
Philadelphia 40 4 0-1 1-1 9 22
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Flyers have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .571 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .714 after a win and .250 after a loss.