The Philadelphia Flyers coughed up a 4-1 third period lead in an eventual loss on Sunday. They flipped that script on Thursday, storming back against the Columbus Blue Jackets to win 5-4.
Nick Foligno scored a goal with just 11 seconds left in the second period to give Columbus a 3-0 lead entering the final frame. The Blue Jackets might not strike casual observers as a shutdown team, but they had been lately; the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi pointed out that Columbus was 36-0-1 entering the third period with a lead, but now they have one regulation loss in that situation.
Claude Giroux (two goals, one assist), Jakub Voracek (one goal, two assists) and Mark Streit (two assists) were the key figures for Philly. The Flyers made it 3-2 before Blake Comeau’s 4-2 goal 8:35 into the third period. Undaunted, the Flyers scored three goals in about three minutes to win (and not even send the game into OT).
One of Giroux’s two goals was of the mind-bending variety:
While it wasn’t the greatest statistical night for Steve Mason, it seems like he might be heating up a bit again. He’s now won three of his last four games after stumbling a bit to begin the month.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets’ frustration must be building, as they’ve lost three games in a row ... all by one goal.