Tim Stutzle’s second goal of the game came with 3:20 remaining in overtime, and the Ottawa Senators stayed hot with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
After tying things twice on third-period goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Thomas Chabot, the Senators earned a 4-on-3 power play in overtime. And, Stutzle came through, after a perfect seam pass from Drake Batherson to beat Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov (21 saves).
Chabot also had two assists and Stutzle added one for playoff-bound Ottawa (44-30-6, 94 points), which won its fifth straight at home. The Senators are 15-5-1 since the beginning of March, and 21-6-1 at home since Nov. 25.
Garnet Hathaway had a goal with an assist for Philadelphia (33-37-10, 76 points), which will miss the playoffs for a fifth straight year, but is 5-1-1 under interim coach Brad Shaw.
Philadelphia opened the scoring with 8:17 remaining in the second. Well-placed fourth-line enforcer Nick Deslauriers chipped in the rebound of Cam York’s shot.
However, Ottawa answered 53 seconds later. Taking a stretch pass from Chabot, Stutzle got behind the Flyers defense, made a move on Fedotov and converted his first goal since March 27.
Philadelphia, though, regained the lead with 2:41 left in the middle frame. Noah Cates, off his own rebound, skated the puck around the back of the net and tucked it past Anton Forsberg (29 saves) for a 2-1 Flyers’ edge.
Ottawa tied things just 4:41 into the third. After Philadelphia failed to clear the puck, the Senators’ Shane Pinto found Zetterlund in the slot ready to successfully convert his second goal in three games.
The Flyers, however, again went ahead with 12:27 left in regulation. Nick Seeler kept the puck in the Ottawa zone, where it landed on the stick of Hathaway, who skated in and beat Forsberg on the short side.
But with 7:06 left in the third, the Senators tied it once again. Off a pass from Angus Crookshank, Chabot drilled the puck from the circle to beat Fedotov, who did not have his stick at the time, on the top shelf.
