Although it has been a tumultuous stretch for the Philadelphia Flyers (7-9-5) over the past few weeks, the team finally was able to break through on Monday night, knocking off the Carolina Hurricanes (7-10-4), 3-2, on an overtime game-winning tally by defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere 24 seconds into the extra period.
On a night where former Philadelphia and Carolina forward Rod Brind'Amour was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame, the team was able to find refuge in the comfort of their home crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, garnering the momentum throughout the majority of the contest.
The Flyers set the tempo of the matchup from the opening puck drop, inflicting pressure on Hurricanes goalie Eddie Lack from the outset with a flurry of shots. Philadelphia recorded 36 shots on the night, compared with Carolina's 33.
Philadelphia also established their will on the defensive end of the puck, recording 29 hits to the Hurricanes' 21 hits while capturing four takeaways to Carolina's one. The Flyers took care of the puck as well, committing just 10 turnovers to the Hurricanes 12.
After the first period concluded with a scoreless tie despite a penalty shot opportunity for Flyers center Brayden Schenn after a hooking call on the Hurricanes Noah Hanfin 17:06 into the contest, Philadelphia took control of the momentum in the second period.
10:06 into the second, Schenn recorded his sixth goal of the season, assisted by center Claude Giroux and right winger Jakub Voracek, after flushing home a dime off a pass by Giroux on the power play to provide his team with a 1-0 lead.
Then, 15:08 into the second period following a penalty on Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz, Giroux notched his seventh goal after putting home a missed shot from center Sean Couturier following a Carolina turnover, giving Philadelphia a commanding 2-0 advantage.
However, that lead would not last, as 7:58 into the third period Hurricanes center Victor Rask recorded his sixth goal of the season on a rebound attempt from the left side of Philadelphia goalie Michael Neuvirth, slicing the deficit in half on a score assisted by John-Micheal Liles and Justin Faulk.
The Flyers appeared to have their sights set on escaping with a regulation victory, however, with 3:45 remaining in the contest, defenseman Brett Pesce notched his second tally of 2015-16 by finishing a missed shot from in close, the goal assisted by Ron Hainsey and Elias Lindholm.
Despite sending the game into overtime with a furious comeback, Carolina shot themselves in the foot just 11 seconds into the extra period as Rask was sent to the penalty box for a two-minute foul.
Just 13 seconds later, Giroux, holding the puck on Lack's right wing, found Gostisbehere cutting behind the defense at the point, the rookie defenseman ripping home the dime past Lack for the victory with a left-handed slapshot. Voracek was also credited with an assist on the game-winner.