Simmonds scores in overtime to give Flyers win against Ducks

ANAHEIM -- Wayne Simmonds scored 44 seconds into overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Saturday.
Anaheim never had possession during overtime. The puck briefly got away from the Flyers in the Ducks zone, but center Sean Couturier got to it and found Simmonds open coming down the left side.

WATCH: [All Flyers vs. Ducks highlights]
"[Couturier] did a great job battling," said Simmonds, who has four goals, including a hat trick in a 5-3 win in Philadelphia's season opener at the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. "He stepped to the middle of the ice and he took both guys with him, so that whole left side was open."
Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler scored shorthanded at 3:40 of the third period to tie the game 2-2.
The Flyers (2-1-0) took a 2-1 lead at 13:09 of the second period on Couturier's first goal. Jakub Voracek drove to the net along the left wing with Ducks defenseman Josh Manson on his hip, pulled up just below the goal line, and backhanded a pass to the top of the crease, where Couturier swept the puck through goalie John Gibson's pads.
"I think the speed that we have in this locker room definitely helps. It gives us that extra little push," said Flyers goalie Brian Elliott, who had 21 saves.
Anaheim (1-0-1) didn't get its first shot on goal in the second period until 13:54, and that stretch included its first full two-minute power play.
The Ducks gave up the first goal for the second straight game.
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead one second after a first-period roughing penalty to Ducks center Antoine Vermette expired when Jordan Weal passed the puck from behind the net to defenseman Ivan Provorov, who beat Gibson at 8:19.
Rookie center Nolan Patrick, the No. 2 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, got an assist on the goal for his first NHL point.

"I'd like to see us come out and put teams on their heels instead of vice versa," Fowler said. "We haven't shown that in the first couple of games, but the season is still young. I expect us to improve."
After Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere was called for slashing Chris Wagner on a shorthanded breakaway at 11:08 of the first, Vermette scored at 12:13 at 4-on-4 to tie it 1-1. It was Vermette's 500th NHL point.
Vermette helped Ondrej Kase win a puck battle in the corner. Kase passed to Manson, who sent it back to Kase. Vermette had drifted to the other side of the net, and he took a pass from Kase and beat Elliott to the glove side.
"Josh and [Kase] were very strong on that battle," Vermette said. "I tried to find the open space in front of the net, and they made a great play."

Anaheim played without forwards Ryan Getzlaf (lower body), Nick Ritchie (lower body), Patrick Eaves (lower body) and Ryan Kesler (hip surgery), and defensemen Hampus Lindholm (shoulder surgery) and Sami Vatanen (shoulder surgery).
"It's no secret, we're facing adversity early on," Vermette said. "We don't want to create any excuses for ourselves. We believe in our group and know what we're capable of."

Goal of the game

Couturier made a no-look, backhand pass to Simmonds as he cut toward the Anaheim net early in overtime. Simmonds took one stride before beating Gibson on the glove side.

Save of the game

Gibson made back-to-back saves on the first power play of the game, the first on Gostisbehere at 7:17 of the first period and the second on Claude Giroux five seconds later while diving to his right with his arms outstretched.

Highlight of the game

Fowler stole the puck at the Ducks blue line and got free for a breakaway. He reached the top of the left circle and beat Elliott up high on the glove side with a wrist shot.

They said it

"They had some key guys out, so you know the guys that are in the lineup are going to be absolutely at their top level." -- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol
"We'll take the point and move on. It wasn't one we could say we played very well in as a whole. We had some spurts, but we didn't really have the consistency going." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle

Need to know

The Flyers ended an eight-game losing streak against the Ducks, who have a 14-game point streak (11-0-3) against Philadelphia since losing 3-0 at home Feb. 2, 2008. … The Ducks earned at least one point in their first two games of a season for the fourth time in their 24-season history. … The shorthanded goal was the fourth of Fowler's NHL career.

What's next

Flyers: At the Nashville Predators on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, NBCSP, NHL.TV)
Ducks:Host the Calgary Flames on Monday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, SNF, NHL.TV)