PHILADELPHIA – The Flyers very nearly threw away a win on Saturday.
Philadelphia held a 3-1 lead over the Los Angeles Kings in the third period, but Viktor Arvidsson and Anze Kopitar scored in the frame to knot the game, 3-3, and force extra time.
Scott Laughton rescued the Flyers with a strike in the extra session for a 4-3 win.
“I would say relief,” Laughton said. “Feels like you kind of can’t get out of it when you lose that many in a row. They score that third goal to tie it up, it’s a little deflating, a little bit of an unlucky bounce. Thought we did a good job in [overtime] of keeping the puck and having possession and found a way to win.”
The victory snapped a 13-game losing streak.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Philadelphia’s Cam Atkinson said. “I hate losing. We all hate losing. It’s one of those things where I didn’t want to lose this one. They scored one late there, but we found a way to stick with it and ultimately get the job done.”
Atkinson scored twice for the Flyers.
“It’s extremely important for a number of reasons,” Flyershead coach Mike Yeo said. “It allows us to play the game without that big story of what’s out there. We won a game today, and that’s really good, and that’s what we want to accomplish every night we play a game. Now the challenge is to make sure we get better from this one. Let’s make it two now.”
Gerry Mayhew added a single marker for Philadelphia.
The Flyers improved to 14-22-8.
“Once overtime started, guys didn’t feel sorry for themselves,” Yeo said. “They got right back on the attack and I felt like we were dangerous every shift out there.”
Carter Hart made 37 saves. in the win.
Arvidsson hit for a pair of goals for the Lings.
“Come back from down two midway through the third period, so that’s a really good sign,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I don’t question the drive to want to come back. … We just weren’t sharp enough for the other 50 minutes.”
LA dropped to 22-16-7.
Jonathan Quick made 32 saves in the LA loss.
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