Flyers lose sixth straight, 2-1, to Flames in OT

CALGARY, Alberta - The Flyers got second-line center Sean Couturier back into the lineup Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, but it didn't stop their losing streak.

Calgary 2, Flyers 1.

Mikael Backlund scored on a rebound with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left in overtime as the Flames won for just the second time in their last seven games. The puck bounced off Backlund's body after Michal Neuvirth stopped Johnny Gaudreau's shot.

It was the sixth straight loss for the Flyers, who have lost all four games on a road trip that mercifully ends Saturday in Winnipeg.

"We earned a hard point tonight," coach Dave Hakstol said. "Better overall team play. . . . This was a gutty road effort for us."

Calgary seemed like the perfect tonic for the Flyers' ailing offense. The Flames entered the night allowing a league-worst 4.23 goals per game, and goalie Karri Ramo took a 4.43 GAA and .871 save percentage into the game.

No matter. The Flyers rarely cycled the puck and had few quality scoring chances in the first two periods. They are 0 for 16 on the power play in the last seven games.

The Flyers had lots of third-period chances, including two by defenseman Brandon Manning in the first 8:30 of the stanza. But Ramo denied Manning his first goal in 31 career games.

Neuvirth, who kept the Flyers in the game with several outstanding saves in the first two periods, stopped Michael Frolik in front to keep the score tied with 9:06 to go. About 11/2 minutes later, he stopped a flurry of shots in a sequence started by Gaudreau's slick passing.

Wayne Simmonds, playing one of his best games of the season, was stopped with 52.4 seconds left as Ramo stopped the winger's sixth shot of the night.

Michael Raffl scored his first goal of the season, taking a pass from Claude Giroux and beating Ramo with a one-timer from the slot, tying the score at 1-1 with 35.2 seconds left in the second period.

It was one of the Flyers' few quality chances in the first two periods, and Giroux set it up by outbattling Backlund behind the net and firing a pass out front.

"It was a pretty nice faceoff by G," Raffl said. "He almost got an empty-netter right off the faceoff."

Giroux won 11 of 16 draws (69 percent) in the first 40 minutes. He leads the NHL with a 60 percent success rate in the faceoff circle.

"The puck was kind of bouncy and I couldn't really handle it, so I threw it back at the net and G won the puck back and saw me wide open there," Raffl said.

Once again the Flyers allowed the first goal and were chasing the game.

Eleven seconds after a no-shot power play expired, Calgary took a 1-0 lead as Josh Jooris scored on a turnaround rebound from deep inside the left circle. It was the second rebound of a sequence that started when Neuvirth stopped Jooris on a breakaway after he had left the penalty box.

Jake Voracek, still looking for his first goal, fired a shot off the left post during the power play.

The Flames had a three-on-one shorthanded chance with about 41/2minutes left in the opening period, but Neuvirth robbed Kris Russell.

Calgary, which had lost five of its previous six games to cause changes on all of its lines and defensive pairings Thursday, had the better scoring chances and maintained its 1-0 lead through the first 20 minutes. The Flyers have been outscored, 14-5, in first periods this year.

Four minutes into the second period, Giroux broke into Calgary's zone on a two-on-one, but his pass to Raffl was blocked by defenseman T.J. Brodie.

A little less than two minutes later, Calgary had a two-on-one of its own, but Neuvirth turned aside David Jones' shot, keeping the Flyers within 1-0.

With Couturier back in the lineup after missing six games because of a concussion, the Flyers' lines were more balanced.

Couturier is the Flyers' best defensive forward. "Coots is a big part of our team," Simmonds, one of Couturier's linemates, said before the game. "I think everyone knows what Coots is going to give when he's on the ice. . . . Everyone says he's got to put up big points, but that's going to come. But what he does, he controls the game from the center position and plays both sides of the puck so well. It's huge."

He helped stabilize the penalty kill, which was shaky in his absence.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

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