Panthers defeat Flyers in OT for 11th straight home win to start season

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Aaron Ekblad scored at 2:39 of overtime when the Florida Panthers tied the NHL record with their 11th consecutive home win to start the season, 2-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.

The Panthers (14-2-3) matched the 1963-64 Chicago Black Hawks for the best start at home.
"That's great," Ekblad said. "Tying that is awesome. It's a very cool thing to do it in front of our fans, and we hope to get another one."
Florida outshot Philadelphia 7-0 in overtime; Flyers forward Cam Atkinson hit the post with a backhand on a breakaway at 2:02.
Ekblad scored with a one-timer from the slot off a return pass from Jonathan Huberdeau.
"He was all around it (tonight), and it was nice to see him get rewarded there at the end," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said of Ekblad.
Martin Jones made 43 saves, and Joel Farabee scored for the Flyers (8-6-4), who are 0-2-2 in their past four games.
"Guys in front of [Jones] were playing hard and trying to do the right thing," Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said. "It's challenging with a team with that skill level and speed coming at you. But for the most part I thought we handled it pretty well."

Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves and set a Panthers record with an 11-game point streak (9-0-2).
"[Bobrovsky] has been top one, two, three in the League this year so far," Ekblad said. "He's been unbelievable. I'm happy for him. He deserves it."
It was the third overtime win during Florida's streak, which also includes six victories by at least three goals.
It was the first game the Panthers failed to score at least four goals at home this season.
"We've had some nights when it's come easy, but tonight we really had to earn it," Brunette said. "We dug in and found a way."
Sam Bennett tied the game 1-1 for the Panthers with a power-play goal at 3:59 of the third period when he redirected Anthony Duclair's pass at the left side of the net. It was Florida's first power-play goal in eight games, ending an 0-for-18 drought.

Farabee gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead at 7:33 of the first period on a breakaway when he slid the puck between Bobrovsky's legs after a quick backhand-to-forehand move.
"Definitely nice to score but doesn't mean anything if we don't win the game," Farabee said.
NOTES: Ekblad extended his point streak to five games with an assist on Bennett's goal (two goals, five assists). It was the defenseman's 250th NHL point. … Ekblad became the seventh player to score a game-winning goal during the Panthers' home streak (Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen, three each; Huberdeau, Carter Verhaeghe, Ryan Lomberg and Anton Lundell, one each). … Philadelphia defenseman Keith Yandle played his 940th consecutive game in his return to Florida, where he played the previous five seasons. He is 24 shy of tying the NHL record of 964 consecutive games held by Doug Jarvis. … Flyers forward Morgan Frost had one shot on goal in 13:44 in his season debut after being recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions earlier in the day.