Del Zotto's goal lifts Flyers to overtime victory

ST. PAUL, Minn. - After a West Coast trip that produced three mostly listless losses, the Flyers have regained their mojo.

Thanks to defenseman Michael Del Zotto's dramatic goal, they recorded their second straight win Thursday, defeating the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, in overtime at the Excel Energy Center.

Del Zotto's second goal of the game won it with 37 seconds left in overtime, enabling the Flyers to snap a five-game road losing streak.

But the victory may have been costly. Shayne Gostisbehere, who leads NHL rookie defensemen with seven goals, left early in the second period with an injury and did not return.

The Flyers called it a lower-body injury and would not comment on how long the defenseman would be sidelined.

Gostisbehere missed most of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux set up the game-winner on a tic-tac-toe passing play.

"We kind of let the lead slip away there, and it was nice to contribute offensively," Del Zotto said after the second two-goal game of his career - the other was in 2012 with the Rangers. "I haven't had a ton of bounces go in for me, so it was nice to contribute."

Gostisbehere was tripped by Mikko Koivu with 3:57 left in the first period. His right knee appeared to collide with Koivu's knee, and he landed on his left knee. He played two shifts in the second period, then headed to the locker room.

He was not available to the media after the game.

"It's unfortunate Ghost went down, but hopefully he's back for the next game" on Saturday, Del Zotto said.

A bad exchange between goalie Steve Mason and defenseman Nick Schultz behind the Flyers' net gave the Wild a gift goal, tying the score at 3-3 with 6:24 left in regulation.

The puck bounced off Schultz and then off Mason's pads and into a wide-open crease, where Zach Parise knocked it into an empty net. It was his 19th career goal against the Flyers, the most he has scored against any team.

Mason redeemed himself in overtime, making five saves. "I thought in the overtime, our best player was our goaltender," coach Dave Hakstol said.

Del Zotto and Ryan White scored 52 seconds apart midway through the second period to forge a 3-1 lead.

Brayden Schenn contributed two assists, giving him five points in his last two games.

Midway through the second, Del Zotto, jumping into the play from his defensive spot, took a slick pass from Schenn in front and beat Devan Dubnyk, putting the Flyers ahead, 2-1.

Just 52 seconds later, Dubnyk dived to swat the puck away from on-charging Chris VandeVelde, but White knocked in the rebound - his first goal in 10 games - to make it 3-1.

The Wild cut it to 3-2 with 4:02 remaining in the second as Jason Zucker took advantage of a Giroux turnover and scored on a breakaway, putting a backhander past Mason.

Center Sean Couturier had started the scoring in the opening period.

Couturier is regarded as the Flyers' best defensive forward, but in the last two weeks, he has taken his game to a new level.

During that span, Couturier also has been the team's top offensive player, and he continued his blistering pace Thursday.

Couturier scored his fifth goal in the last nine games, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 12:11 left in the opening period.

From behind the net, Raffl found Couturier in the slot, and he beat Dubnyk and started a seven-minute stretch in which the Flyers spent most of the time in the Wild's zone.

"I just one-timed it as hard as I could," said Couturier, who has 10 points in his last nine games.

Schenn, coming off a three-point performance in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Tuesday, also collected an assist on the goal.

Minnesota tied it with 5:19 left in the first as Marco Scandella's point drive got past Mason, who was screened by Radko Gudas and the Wild's Mikael Granlund.

The teams were tied at 1-all after 20 minutes. The Flyers have led just once in the last 25 games heading into the second period.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull