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Tyson Foerster and Sean Couturier score in the final minute in Flyers' 4-2 road win over Panthers

Jackie Spiegel, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in Hockey

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Philadelphia Flyers have a lot to be thankful for this season.

Notably, Tyson Foerster, who scored the game-winning goal with 45.2 seconds left in regulation. Sean Couturier added a deflection up and over goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with 24 seconds left to give the Flyers a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.

The Flyers have won three of their past four games and four of their past six. They also won the season series against the Panthers (2-1-0).

The usual suspect

The Flyers came out ready to play. Before the Panthers got their first shot on goal 4 minutes, 33 seconds into the game, the Flyers had four shots on goal and six more that were either blocked or missed the net.

But the Flyers fell into a 1-0 hole in the first period. Emil Andrae skated out from behind the net, and the puck slid off his stick, leading to a barrage of shots by the home team.

Within 19 seconds, the Panthers put six shots on Flyers goalie Dan Vladař, with another hitting the crossbar. The Flyers got the puck out, and at the other end, Nick Seeler had his stick break on a point shot, creating a turnover.

The Panthers skated out with Sam Bennett eventually getting the puck back in the Flyers’ end. Bennett skated around Matvei Michkov, who got back but pulled down the forward as he cut across the crease. Michkov would have been called for a penalty if Brad Marchand hadn’t buried the puck.

It is the 16th time this season the Flyers have trailed 1-0. They have played only 22 games.

Andrae the Giant

The Hockey Gods certainly love to dole it out. Andrae had a rough start and was also on the ice for the Panthers’ second goal in the second period, with Carter Verhaeghe finishing off a pretty passing play. But Andrae took it right back.

Andrae cut the Panthers’ lead in half with his first goal of the season. After some sustained pressure by the Flyers, Andrae got the puck at the left point and threw it on net. With a ton of traffic in front, that included Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak, the puck threaded the needle and got past former Bobrovsky.

 

Less than a minute later, Andrae was in the penalty box for high-sticking, but the Flyers do have the fourth-best penalty kill (85.5%) and held them to one shot on goal and one blocked shot.

On his next shift after serving his time, Andrae helped tie the game up. Controlling the puck, Andrae and Jamie Drysdale used their top commodity — their footwork — to cross atop the circles. Andrae then got the puck back and sent a shot on goal that Michkov deflected in. The goal is Michkov’s sixth of the year and his fifth in the last nine games.

Vladař comes up big again

People questioned the signing of Vladař on July 1, but he has been nothing short of the Flyers’ best player this season.

The Panthers put 15 shots on goal in the first period, with several coming from high-danger areas, and he allowed just one goal. He stopped a Gustav Forsling point shot with his pad before robbing Verhaeghe from seven feet out and stopped Noah Gregor as he weaved through the Flyers’ defense.

In the second period, things settled down, and he faced just five shots on goal. But it’s about quality and not quantity, and Vladař robbed A.J. Greer as he sneaked behind the defense and tried to score on the backhand.

Vladař finished with 25 saves to earn his eighth win of the season in 13 games.

Breakaways

Defenseman Egor Zamula and forward Nic Deslauriers were the healthy scratches. … Forward Owen Tippett had the secondary assist on Andrae’s goal for the 100th of his NHL career. … Couturier snapped a 17-game goal drought with his third of the year.

Up next

The Flyers practice in Florida before heading north for Thanksgiving and have a Black Friday matchup at the New York Islanders.


©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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