Tippett ties it late, Flyers defeat Capitals in shootout

Owen Tippett tied the game late in the third period, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a shootout at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Bobby Brink and Joel Farabee scored, and Morgan Frost had two assists for the Flyers (16-10-3), who are 5-0-2 during a seven-game point streak. Samuel Ersson made 27 saves.

Sean Couturier and Brink scored in the shootout for Philadelphia.

“We weren’t at our best,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “You could tell we were flat. I think the biggest thing is that you admit to yourself that you are flat and just try to change the game a little bit. We were turning too many over. … Find a way to score a couple goals, tied it a couple times.

“So, it’s a good win for us because we need to try to win those games. You’re not always going to be perfect.”

Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist, and Aliaksei Protas had two assists for the Capitals (14-8-4). Charlie Lindgren made 29 saves.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin was held without a point. He has four assists during an 11-game goal drought, surpassing a 10-game stretch from Feb. 22-March 12, 2017, for the longest of his NHL career.

“I thought we had a lot of good things going for us throughout the game,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Liked our start, liked our second period. I thought we put ourselves in a good position heading into the third period. … We started to do things that we haven’t done all year playing with the lead. We just, now, we just got back on our heels.”

Tippett tied it 3-3 at 17:01 with a spinning wrist shot from the high slot past a screen by Travis Sanheim.

“I think it’s not what we’re hoping for, just because we’ve got the lead and we’re up 3-2 with two minutes left,” Lindgren said. “Then, they obviously scored the goal from just inside the blue line. Goes through someone’s legs right in front. But I thought, overall, we played a really good road hockey game.”

Brink put the Flyers ahead 1-0 at 2:14 of the second period, chipping in a rebound off a Marc Staal shot.

Connor McMichael tied it 1-1 just 46 seconds later, taking a pass from Protas in front before going backhand to forehand around Ersson’s right pad at 3:00.

Wilson put Washington up 2-1 on a power play at 15:21 when he converted a cross-crease pass from Strome.

“We were a little flat to start the game,” Brink said. “Sometimes that happens after a long road trip, but we kept it within reach. We didn't start well and had a good third there. … It shows that we’re a resilient group. We’ve come back in some games this year and got big points or ended up with a big win. It was definitely nice, and a big game there.”

Farabee tied it 2-2 at 5:25 of the third, winning the puck on the forecheck behind the net and scoring on a wraparound under Lindgren.

“I felt like the first half of the game wasn’t what we probably wanted to do,” Farabee said. “I thought we were pretty flat. I think something we talked about in the intermission is it’s just one of those games where you just mentally have to get over some hurdles and keep playing. Really liked our battle and perseverance in the third.”

Strome scored his 12th of the season, giving the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 9:05 of the third.

“Thought we played hard, played well,” Strome said. “Had timely goals. Just a couple miscues defensively. They tied it up. So, thought we controlled play in overtime. I like our odds if we play like that most nights. … Take some positives and move onto the next one.”

NOTES: It was Ersson's third shootout win of the season, tying Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the League lead. Ersson started in place of Flyers goalie Carter Hart, who was unavailable because of an undisclosed illness. Goalie Felix Sandstrom, who was an emergency recall from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League served as the backup. … Washington forward Evgeny Kuznetsov was a late scratch with an undisclosed illness. … Capitals forward Sonny Milano (upper body) did not play after being placed on injured reserve. Forward Joe Snively was recalled from Hershey of the AHL to replace Milano. He did not have a shot on goal in 6:31 of ice time.