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Columbus Blue Jackets crumble in stinging overtime loss to Philadelphia Flyers
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- Columbus Blue Jackets crumble in stinging overtime loss to Philadelphia Flyers
It became a game of resilience Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center, where Owen Tippett and the Philadelphia Flyers had a little more than the Blue Jackets .
Despite starting the third period up 2-0, the Blue Jackets coughed up the lead three times in the final period of regulation and again on Tippett's winner 3:30 into overtime to give the Flyers a 5-4 OT comeback victory. Tippett led all players in scoring with four points on his goal and three assists, which set up three of the Flyers' four goals in the third period.
Dec 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson (78) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim (6) battle for position during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Mathieu Olivier , Mikael Pyyhtia, Kirill Marchenko and Jake Christiansen scored goals for the Blue Jackets (13-15-6), who coughed up leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 in the third after goalie Elvis Merzlikins stopped all 16 shots he faced in the first two frames. Morgan Frost scored two goals for the Flyers (15-15-4), who also got goals in the third from Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster .
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Christiansen scored a big goal for the Blue Jackets with 4:11 left in the third period, scoring from distance to break a 3-3 tie after the Flyers rallied from down 2-0 starting the game's final period. Tyson Foerster, however, tied it again, 4-4, by scoring at 6-on-5 with 1:44 left in regulation and the Flyers' net empty.
Dec 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) scores a goal pst Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) and goaltender Samuel Ersson (33) during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Merzlikins, who was outstanding in the first two periods, struggled in the third after Morgan Frost and Noah Cates beat him with goals separated by almost two minutes to erase the Jackets' 2-0 lead. He allowed four goals in the third on 12 shots, including a second goal by Frost and Foerster's equalizer that forced OT.
Prior to the game, the Flyers invited the Gaudreau family onto the ice for a ceremonial puck drop to honor the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau — who were killed by a vehicle while riding bikes Aug. 29 near their homes in South Jersey. It was the third such ceremony this season for the Blue Jackets, who also memorialized the Gaudreau brothers along with the Gaudreau family Oct. 15 during their home-opener at Nationwide Arena and prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on Dec. 3 at Scotiabank Saddledome — where Johnny Gaudreau played the first 10 years of his NHL career.
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The Blue Jacket also got an injury scare early in the third when star defenseman Zach Werenski slammed his left knee into the bottom of the boards. He stayed on the ice until play stopped, hobbled off and returned to the game several minutes later.
Dec 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes a save against Philadelphia Flyers center Scott Laughton (21) during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Following the pregame ceremony, Philadelphia had a better start and controlled the action for much of the game's first 10 minutes despite an early Blue Jackets power play. The Flyers just couldn't get a shot past Merzlikins, which allowed Olivier to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead with 4:13 left in the opening period for his ninth goal of the season.
Merzlikins, who stole a victory for the Blue Jackets on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils , again was sharp to start out against the Flyers. He made multiple saves against high-danger looks in the first two periods, including a sprawling pad save in the first to deny a 2-on-1 goal by Tippett.
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Pyyhtia pushed it to 2-0 for the Blue Jackets early in the second with his third goal of the season, scored after Sean Kuraly collected the puck behind the Flyers' net with Ersson caught way out of position trying to play it. That was the lone goal of the middle frame, which finished with the Blue Jackets outshooting the Flyers 7-6 despite most of the play happening inside the Columbus zone.
Dec 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes a save against Philadelphia Flyers center Scott Laughton (21) during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Philadelphia had a goal by Olle Lycksell taken away for a missed offside in the second after the Blue Jackets issued a coaching challenge. Replays showed the puck just barely escaped the Jackets' zone before being sent back into it with a pass to Lycksell for a great scoring chance he slid between Merzlikins' pads. Otherwise, Merzlikins stayed sharp with six more saves in the second that included a big one against Scott Laughton four seconds before the horn sounded to end the period.
The Flyers finally clawed back into it in the third on goals 1:55 apart by Frost and Cates, who scored at 6:53 and 8:48 to tie it 2-2. Marchenko put the Blue Jackets back up, 3-2, just 1:13 later on his 12th goal of the season, but Frost scored his second of the game 1:50 later to tie it again at 3-3, beating Merzlikins with a wrist shot from the left circle. Christiansen and Foerster then exchanged goals to force OT, where Ersson topped Merzlikins with a big save to help set up Tippett's winner.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets crumble in OT loss to Philadelphia Flyers
