Kirill Marchenko scored the deciding goal of a shootout to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to five games and are 9-2-1 over their last 12. Columbus is now 4-0 in games decided by a shootout this season.
Zach Werenski scored both Columbus goals in regulation time. The star defenseman leads the Blue Jackets with 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists), and he has at least one point in his last 17 home games.
Daniil Tarasov stopped 23 of 25 shots, plus both Flyers attempts in the shootout. It was a much-needed win for the struggling Tarasov, who was playing in his first game since a brief conditioning stint in the AHL.
Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett scored for Philadelphia, which has earned at least a point in three straight games (2-0-1). Philadelphia has an 8-6 record in a league-high 14 games decided beyond regulation time this season.
Ivan Fedotov stopped 26 of 28 shots, including a pair of huge saves against Damon Severson in the third period.
At 3:44 of the first period, some strong forechecking from the Flyers led to a turnover in Columbus’ zone. Nick Seeler’s pass from the edge of the circle found a wide-open Brink for the tip-in at the side of the net.
Another turnover led to Werenski’s equalizer midway through the first frame. Noah Cates couldn’t collect a pass at the Columbus blue line, and Werenski grabbed the loose puck and took off on a breakaway for the tying goal.
Both teams had eight shots in the first period and Philadelphia had a one-shot edge during a scoreless second frame. Fedotov and Tarasov each made multiple big saves in the middle period to keep the score tied.
After all the strong goaltending, the Flyers scored 8:13 into the third period on a fairly innocent chance. Tippett’s long-range shot from the upper slot beat Tarasov to restore Philadelphia’s lead.
Werenski equalized again 15:23 into the third frame. Marchenko sent a terrific circle-to-circle pass to Werenski, who converted his second marker of the game.
