Flyers earn first win of season with 3-1 victory over Senators
Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone each had a goal and an assist in the victory.
PHILADELPHIA · The Philadelphia Flyers snapped a nine-game losing streak to start the season with a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone led the way with a goal and an assist each, while Trevor Zegras sealed the victory with an empty-net goal late in the third period. The win was the first of the season for the Flyers, who improved their record to 1-6-3. Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark suffered his first loss of the season after winning his first six starts.
Drake Batherson opened the scoring for the Senators in the second period, finishing a 2-on-1 rush with a one-timer off a pass from Claude Giroux. Tim Stützle earned a secondary assist on the play. The Flyers responded just over three minutes later to tie the game. Michkov found Martone with a pass to the far post, and Martone tapped the puck in for his second goal of the season.
Philadelphia took the lead on a power play late in the second period. Martone's shot was stopped by Ullmark, but the rebound went directly to Michkov, who scored his fourth goal of the year. David Jiricek also assisted on the goal, which was the 50th of Michkov's career. Michkov reached the milestone in his 171st game, becoming the fastest Flyer to do so since Matt Read in 2014. Ottawa lost captain Thomas Chabot to an apparent injury to his right arm or wrist during the game. The Senators have dealt with several injuries on defence this season, with Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub, Nikolas Matinpalo and Cam Crotty also having missed time. Dan Vladar made 25 saves for the Flyers to earn the win.
Ullmark finished with 25 saves for Ottawa, seeing his record fall to 6-1-0. His six consecutive wins to start the season had tied a franchise record set by Ray Emery. The Flyers' three-goal output marked the first time they had scored more than twice in a game this season. Ottawa's Warren Foegele hit the post in the third period during the team's push for an equalizer. Up next: The Flyers host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. The Senators begin a three-game homestand Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
With files from The Globe and Mail, Sportsnet and Yahoo Sports