Flyers pick up much-needed win over Stars, 2-1, in overtime to remain in playoff hunt

Jackie Spiegel, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 29, 2026

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The Flyers needed that one.

Not just because they were facing the No. 2 team in the NHL in the Dallas Stars. Not just because they were on the second night of a back-to-back and grinding one out when tired always feels good — for the record, Dallas was on a back-to-back, too.

And not just because Porter Martone was at Xfinity Mobile Arena after signing his entry-level contract earlier in the day.

They needed the 2-1 win in overtime against the Stars to climb within striking distance of the Flyers first playoff appearance since 2020.

Trevor Zegras carried the puck up the ice down the right wing and buried it through the five-hole of Casey DeSmith.

Sam Ersson, who got an assist on the game-winner, saved the game with one minute, 21 seconds left in regulation when he robbed Wyatt Johnson with his left pad on a Dallas power play. Johnston, who has scored 24 of his 40 goals with the man advantage was sitting at the left post and tried to slam a cross-crease pass from Matt Duchene but Ersson robbed him to preserve at least one point.

With the win, the Flyers have 86 points. They move into a tie in points with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, with all three teams trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost in a shootout to the Boston Bruins on Sunday, by two points for the second wild card slot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers also are two points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the third-seed in the Metropolitan Division and three points back of the New York Islanders, who the Flyers play on Friday, for No. 2.

The Flyers have a game in hand on the Blue Jackets and Islanders.

After a first period that looked like two teams sitting back, the Flyers got on the board first in the second period with a power-play goal after Rasmus Ristolainen drew a high-sticking call on Mikko Rantanen as he dropped into the slot.

The second power play of three for the Orange and Black saw great movement and crisp passing before it ended with Konecny walking out from behind the goal line with 12 seconds left. Konecny turned and buried the puck around the left pad of Casey DeSmith for his 26th of the season.

Matvei Michov got the primary assist to extend his assist streak to three games and he now has seven assists in the past seven games. He now has 40 points on the season. Ristolainen got the secondary for his first power-play point of the season.

But the power play giveth and taketh. The Stars, who have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, tied things up with under three minutes to go in the middle frame while the Flyers were on a power play.

In the neutral zone, Denver Barkey tried to go back to Jamie Drysdale but it was just of his reach. The defenseman dove for it to knock it away but Arttu Hyry, playing in his 18th NHL game, picked it up and beat Sam Ersson for his first career goal. It is the eighth short-handed goal the Flyers have allowed this season.

Breakaways

Porter Martone, who signed his entry-level contract on Sunday, watched part of the second period alongside president Keith Jones and general manager Danny Brière. The hope is that he can make his debut on Tuesday. ... Tyson Foerster participated in a black jersey at morning skate on Saturday in Detroit, before swapping for an orange for special teams work. According to Flyers general manager Danny Brière on Sunday, “There’s no real update. He’s getting closer and closer. I don’t know if it’s going to be before the end of this year. Now, it’s kind of, I wouldn’t say, day-to-day, but he’s skating. Pretty soon, he’s going to be able to get into some contact, and then it’s figuring out if, first of all, he’s strong enough and if he has the stamina to play in some games.”

Up next

The Flyers head to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. It could mark the debut of Porter Martone and also the last game for Ovechkin against the Orange and Black.