Bruins drop 2-1 overtime decision to Flyers
The B’s ultimately committed too many penalties to overcome the Flyers, as they had to settle for just one point.
Flyers rookie winger Porter Martone scored his first career NHL goal in overtime, lifting his team to a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Bruins picked up a point to improve to 95 on the season, while the Flyers jumped the idle New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan division with 90 points.
Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 29 of 31 Flyers shots (.935) in the tough-luck losing effort. He saved the initial shot in overtime before Martone buried the game-winner. Philadelphia had gained a 5-on-3 power play after Boston got whistled for consecutive penalties in a span of seven seconds.
The Flyers scored just 4:19 into the game off the stick of Christian Dvorak, who took advantage of the Bruins leaving only Mason Lohrei back to defend the oncoming rush. Dvorak decided to shoot instead of pass on the 2-on-1, and beat Korpisalo to give his team an early lead. Martone, who was drafted one spot before the Bruins' James Hagens in 2025, sparked the rush with a nifty centering pass from the half boards to grab an assist.
Philly held that same 1-0 lead for over 36 minutes of game time, surviving seven high-danger scoring chances by Boston over the first two periods. The second period featured five penalties, which included one on David Pastrnak after he confronted the Flyers' Matvei Michkov after he'd been called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Michkov fired the puck toward the Bruins net after the whistle on an offside call, which drew Pastrnak's ire and started the scrum.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy drew a late penalty as he crashed the end boards in the Flyers zone with only 35 seconds left in the second period. They would need the intermission and fresh legs to finally cash in on the man advantage, as the B's finally made Flyers goaltender Daniel Vladar pay for his spotty rebound control. This time, Pavel Zacha lifted the loose puck over a sprawled Vladar for the tying goal, making it 1-1 just 35 seconds into the third period.
The Flyers made a strong late push to take the two points in regulation, outshooting the Bruins 10-5 in the third period. Korpisalo made an eye-popping pad save with just over three minutes in regulation to keep it tied.
Controlling the puck in the closing seconds of regulation, the Flyers ultimately ran the clock out to secure a much-needed point, which set the stage for the deciding overtime period.
Up Next: The B's remain on the road for one more game, as they take on the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at Lenovo Center, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. EST.
