POSTGAME 5: Feelin Sweepy

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED
Battling back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, the Philadelphia Flyers earned a 4-3 overtime win against the host Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night.
Oliver Björkstrand opened the scoring and closely spaced goals by Columbus' Nick Foligno and Travis Konecny canceled out to give Columbus took a 2-1 lead to the first intermission.
Stefan Matteau restored a two-goal margin for Columbus early in the second period, but Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored off a rush and Claude Giroux ripped home a shot on the power play to send the game to the third period tied at 3-3.
There were some close calls both ways -- but no goals -- in the third period. Finally, at 3:51 of overtime, Kevin Hayes (19th) won the game for Philly. Brian Elliott stopped 28 of 31 shots, while Elvis Merzlins turned aside 29 of 33 shots.
Three Stars:1st: Kevin Hayes (1g-1a, OT game winner)2nd: Nick Foligno (1g-1a)3rd: Travis Konecny (1g-1a)

TURNING POINT
The Flyers never led in regulation but showed a lot of resiliency. They dominated puck possession in overtime. Finally, Hayes took a pass from Travis Konecny and, with two defenders on their off-side and their communications scrambled, skated into the left circle and fired a shot that found the net to win the game.

MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Elliott was beaten to the short side over the glove by Björkstrand on the game's first shot; the puck got stuck in the netting under the crossbar. It was a reversal of fortune from Tuesday, when Philly had two goals on the game's first two shots. Later in the frame, there was another "Mystery of the Missing Puck". Travis Sanheim put the puck at the net from inside the left puck and the puck deflected off Konecny's skate into the net to cut the game to 2-1.
2) At 9:05, Foligno made it 2-0. He beat Provorov to the inside, then scored between his legs after Elliott came up empty on a pokecheck attempt. First period shots were 8-6 in Columbus' favor, but shot attempts were 18-15 in the Flyers' favor.
3) The Flyers paid the price for a failed clearing opportunity for Robert Hägg. Moments later, Matteu got inside position on Mark Friedman and re-directed a Boone Jenner shot to give Columbus a 3-1 lead at 3:39 of the second period.
4) With Columbus leading 3-1 in the second period, the middle frame turned into a grind-it-out style game: Lots of one-and-done forays for the Flyers and only sporadic shifts with an extensive forechecking presence. All the Flyers needed, though, was a single shot of a counterrush by Aube-Kubel from high over the middle to get back within 3-2.

5) The Flyers entered the third period with 1:13 of 5-on-3 penalty kill time (with Sanheim and Kevin Hayes in the box). An Elliott arm save, good positional work by the PK and a couple missed shots by the Blue Jackets enabled the Flyers get through it in good shape. In the closing seconds of regulation, Phil Myers made an excellent one-on-one defensive play and in OT, Myers got the secondary assist on the Hayes' game-winner.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The Flyers swept the season series vs. Columbus for the first time in franchise history, going 4-0-0, and a Metropolitan Division opponent for the first time since 2014-15 (Penguins).
* Giroux extended his point streak to seven consecutive games with his power-play goal - he has 12 points (4g-8a) during this stretch.
* Sean Couturier recorded an assist which gives him a five-game point streak (3g-2a).
* Travis Konecny AND Kevin Hayes each posted two-point nights with a goal and assist - they finished the season series against the Blue Jackets with seven points (3g-4a) in four games.
* The Flyers return home for another three-game set. First up, the Winnipeg Jets in a Saturday matinee at the Wells Fargo Center. Puck drop is 1 p.m. on NBCSP & 97.5 The Fanatic.
THEY SAID IT