Flyers Win: Beat Capitals 5-4 In OT Thriller

The Philadelphia Flyers won 5-4 over the Washington Capitals Sunday in an thriller that ended just 1:34 into overtime. Ruslan Fedetenko scored the game-winning goal off a one-timer from Kimmo Timonen to send the Capitals home with a loss.

The Flyers won in dramatic fashion in the high-scoring affair with the Capitals after a huge goal by Timonen with just nine seconds left in the third period. Timonen took a slapshot from the point that beat Capitals’ goaltender Braden Holtby to send the game into overtime at 4-4.

Philadelphia got off to a hot start on Sunday with late goals in the first period by Max Talbot and Matt Read to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Defenseman and Capitals’ fan favorite Mike Green scored his fifth goal of the season with under two minutes left in the second period to tie the game at two and give way for an exciting third period.

The Capitals jumped all over the Flyers early in the third and took a 4-2 lead after back-to-back goals by Marcus Johansson and Alex Ovechkin only 26 seconds apart. Ovechkin found the back of the net on the powerplay off a one-timer that beat Flyers’ goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on the blocker-side.

Ovechkin’s goal was his 18th of the season and should have put away the Flyers for good, but captain Claude Giroux wasn’t ready to give up the fight. Giroux beat Holtby six minutes after Ovechkin gave the Capitals a two-goal lead and gave way to Timonen’s dramatic goal in the final seconds to tie the game.

Fedetenko then finished off the wild comeback with his third of the season early in overtime for the Flyers second straight win. Philadelphia hasn’t reached expectations this season and have fallen to the bottom of the NHL’s Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference but are just two points out of a playoff position.

Currently sitting in 12th place in the conference, the Flyers are just a game behind the four teams ahead of them in a battle for the final playoff spot. The Capitals, Islanders, Flyers, and Rangers are all in the mix for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, which should make for an interesting close to the season in April.

Does the Flyers dramatic win over the Capitals Sunday give them enough momentum to rise from the bottom of the conference and sneak into the 2013 NHL playoffs?

[Image via Wikipedia]