National Hockey League
Philadelphia 4, Columbus 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 20, 2020
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette
Linesmen: Devin Berg, Ryan Galloway
Attendance: 18365

Kevin Hayes scored with 1:09 left in overtime, and the visiting Philadelphia Flyers overcame a two-goal deficit to sweep the season series from the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets with a 4-3 win to conclude a home-and-home set on Thursday night.

Hayes ripped a shot off a two-on-one in the extra session past goalie Elvis Merzlikins (29 saves) to give Philadelphia its second victory in three days over the Blue Jackets, who are in an 0-3-4 stretch.

Travis Konecny scored in his second straight game and added two assists, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Claude Giroux recorded second-period goals that brought the Flyers back from a 3-1 hole to ultimately improve to 11-4-1 over their last 16 games.

The Flyers won all four games of the season series a year after losing all four head-to-head meeting with the Blue Jackets last season.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nick Foligno each had a goal with an assist for Columbus, which, like Philadelphia, is in the mix for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets lost 5-1 at Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Columbus didn't waste any time exciting the home crowd. Bjorkstrand, responsible for the Blue Jackets' only goal at Philadelphia on Tuesday, scored 41 seconds into this contest on a blast where the puck stuck inside the top of the net.

The Blue Jackets made it 2-0 on Foligno's highlight-reel goal with 10:55 left in the opening period. On the move, the Columbus captain pushed the puck between his legs, then struck it home from the same position to celebrate his 900th career game.

Philadelphia, however, pulled one back just 23 seconds later on a strange goal of its own. Travis Sanheim's shot from the point was deflected in off the skate of Konecny, who was lying on the ice on the edge of the crease at the time.

Stefan Matteau, playing in his first NHL game since February 2018 after signing a two-way contract with Columbus this week, made it 3-1 when he deflected in Boone Jenner's shot at 3:39 into the second period.

However, Aube-Kubel scored off the rush, and Giroux rang a power-play blast off the post less than two minutes apart to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:08 left in the second. Giroux has 12 points during a seven-game point streak.

Brian Elliott made 28 saves for the Flyers.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Columbus
Travis Konecny 3 Points Oliver Bjorkstrand 2
Travis Konecny 1 Goals Oliver Bjorkstrand 1
Travis Konecny 2 Assists Markus Nutivaara 2
Claude Giroux 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Brian Elliott .903 Save Percentage Elvis Merzlikins .879
Brian Elliott 28 Saves Elvis Merzlikins 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 33 4 1-1 3-3 8 35
Columbus 31 3 0-3 0-1 4 30
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .567 after a win and .406 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Flyers have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .571 after a loss.