Porter Martone scored his first NHL goal on a 5-on-3 in overtime, lifting the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins on Sunday.
After Boston took penalties seven seconds apart in OT, Philadelphia needed just 15 more seconds to score the decisive goal. Christian Dvorak made a touch pass to the slot for Martone, whose first attempt was stopped by Joonas Korpisalo, but the rookie winger — playing in just his fourth career game — banged home the rebound.
Dan Vladar made 18 saves and Dvorak scored the other goal for Philadelphia (39-26-12, 90 points), which jumped over the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers entered the day one point behind the Islanders, as well as in a four-way tie for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Pavel Zacha scored the lone goal for Boston (43-26-9, 95 points), which still sits atop the wild-card race despite losing its third straight contest. Korpisalo made 29 saves for the Bruins, including the sequence of the game late in regulation when he denied Jamie Drysdale’s blast and then stoned Tyson Foerster on the rebound with a spectacular pad stop.
Philadelphia opened the scoring 4:19 into the first period on Dvorak’s 17th of the season. Martone’s touch pass near the boards unleashed Dvorak on a 2-on-1 rush, and the Flyers’ top-line center sniped one past Korpisalo.
Neither team scored in the second period with Vladar’s stop on David Pastrnak standing out as one of the top saves of the period.
The Flyers had a two-minute power play to begin the second period — not to mention two other man advantages later in the session — but they were unable to solve the Bruins’ penalty kill.
Philadelphia’s Carl Grundstrom took a penalty in the final minute of the second period, and Boston scored with the extra skater 35 seconds into the third. Pastrnak took a heavy shot that Vladar saved, but Casey Mittelstadt shoveled the rebound to Zacha for his 29th of the season.
