Flyers beat Blackhawks, move into playoff position

CHICAGO - The Flyers continued their remarkable late-season run Wednesday night and moved into a playoff spot for the first time since Oct. 28.

Burly defenseman Radko Gudas scored on a deflected point shot with 10 minutes, 7 seconds left, snapping a 2-2 tie and sending the Flyers to a gritty 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

The Flyers, on an 8-1-1 surge, moved one point ahead of Detroit for the final wild-card spot. They have a game in hand on the Red Wings.

"A real good team effort again. Everybody chipped in and contributed," rookie coach Dave Hakstol said after the Flyers had 10 blocks in the third period, a session in which they allowed just four shots. "We did a lot of the little things right that you need to do to win back-to-back and on the road."

The Flyers won both ends of back-to-backs for the second time in 13 sets of consecutive games this season.

Gudas' drive caromed off Christian Ehrhoff and then off the ice before beating unsuspecting goalie Scott Darling, landing just inside the left post to give the Flyers their first lead of the night.

It was Gudas' third goal - all in the last six games.

"I had some time on the blue line and was just trying to get through the first guy, and I was lucky enough it bounced off somebody," Gudas said. "I'll take it."

Moving into a playoff spot for the first time in nearly five months "is a goal we were pulling for since we got out of it," said Gudas, whose game-winning goal was set up by Sean Couturier (two assists). "We've just got to continue and stick with it."

About a minute and a half earlier, Michal Neuvirth - who played brilliantly - stopped Marian Hossa on a breakaway to keep the game tied at 2-2. Hossa nearly fanned on the shot, and Neuvirth said his late saves on Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin were much tougher.

Playing their second game in as many nights and arriving early in the morning Wednesday, the Flyers withstood an early assault from the Blackhawks, who have four straight losses for the first time this season.

Brayden Schenn, capitalizing on a highlight-film pass from Claude Giroux, tied the score at 2-2 with 6:58 to play in the second period. It was Schenn's 24th goal and 48th point, and both are career bests.

It was Schenn's sixth goal in his last eight games.

"This season maybe didn't start the way I wanted it to, but I just stuck with it and believed in myself," Schenn said. "I've been able to play alongside some great athletes along the way."

About eight minutes earlier, sloppy clearing attempts by the Flyers led to a wraparound goal by hustling center Jonathan Toews, who scored on his own rebound to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.

Both teams exchanged special-teams goals in a 1-1 first period.

With a point blast, Andrew MacDonald set up Ryan White's second goal in the last three games to knot the score at 1-1 with 1:12 left in the opening period.

"I just tried to set a screen and, sure enough, I got a piece of the puck," White said.

It gave the Flyers' second unit the team's last four power-play goals. Before that, the first unit had scored the last 19 power-play tallies.

Chicago, the defending Stanley Cup champion, had taken a 1-0 lead on Hossa's 32nd shorthanded goal of his career with 11:42 remaining in the first.

Shayne Gostisbehere broke his stick while taking a shot from the point, and the puck went to Artem Anisimov, who sent away Hossa on a breakaway and he beat Neuvirth. Earlier in the power play, Gostisbehere fired a shot off the post - one of two he hit during the night.

"It kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit," White said of the shorthanded goal, "but our guys did a good job of battling back, and Neuvy had a hell of a period."

Midway through the first, the Flyers got three clears and allowed just two shots while successfully killing a five-on-three Chicago power play that lasted 1:53.

"The guys did an outstanding job blocking shots," said Neuvirth, who had a 3-0 win over Chicago earlier in the season.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

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