Flyers’ skid extends to five with 5-2 home loss vs. Ottawa Senators

It was a much better game, but the result was the same. The Flyers lost 5-2 to the visiting Ottawa Senators, extending their losing streak to five games.

Brady Tkachuk gave the Senators a 1-0 lead in the first period. The Flyers broke out of their end but Travis Sanheim’s pass to Bobby Brink was a little too far ahead and the Senators transitioned right back. Tim Stützle dished to Claude Giroux, who sent a cross-ice pass to an open Tkachuk for the quick snap shot from the right faceoff circle.

Jamie Drysdale’s revival continued on Tuesday night. The Flyers defenseman broke out three-on-two with Ryan Poehling feeding Olle Lycksell at the top of the right circle. He sent a circle-to-circle pass to Travis Konecny, who made a touch pass to Drysdale as he cut down the middle. Drysdale sent a backhand off the arm of Ottawa goaltender Anton Forsberg and in the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period.

Drysdale scored his fifth goal, setting a new career high. It was also the first time he scored in consecutive games in his career.

Tyler Kleven restored the Senators’ lead 69 seconds later when he bobbled the puck on the blue line before sending a shot through a screen and past Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov.

But the Flyers tied things up again, this time by their fourth line. The line of Rodrigo Ābols, Jakob Pelletier, and Nick Deslauriers kept the Senators pinned in their end with a strong forecheck. Right before the goal, Pelletier carried the puck high and handed it off to Cam York, who had just come off the bench. York carried it down and fed Ābols for the bang-bang goal.

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The Flyers gave it back with under 5 minutes to go in the second. Ottawa’s Adam Gaudette made a no-look touch pass to a streaking Michael Amadio, who sent a sweeping shot from the right circle past Fedotov.

The Flyers had their chances to tie things up, especially in the third period.

Tyson Foerster, who was flying all night, had a breakaway chance but when he spun, his shot was blocked by Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot. Less than a minute later, the line of Sean Couturier, Matvei Michkov, and Owen Tippett broke out and had some fancy tic-tac-toe passing before the puck ended up on the stick of Couturier by the right post. He got the shot at the empty net but was blocked by the blade of Matthew Highmore’s stick.

Dylan Cozens made it 4-2 when a pass from Nick Seeler up to Poehling was in his skates. Cozens snagged the loose puck and scored from the slot. Shane Pinto added an empty-netter with 36 seconds left.

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Flyers prospect Spencer Gill was at the game. The defenseman, whom the Flyers selected in the second round of the 2024 NHL draft, is recovering from a broken ankle he suffered in a game for Rimouski of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He is expected to be out for 10-12 weeks but he hopes to return for Rimouski when it hosts the Memorial Cup tournament in late May.

The Flyers host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).