Flyers defeat Blue Jackets for 5th straight win

PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Poehling had a goal and two assists, and the Philadelphia Flyers won their fifth straight game, 5-2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

Joel Farabee and Cam York each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia (10-7-1). Samuel Ersson made 20 saves.

The winning streak is the Flyers' longest since they won nine in a row Feb. 18-March 7, 2020.

"I think it's just the belief in the locker room is the biggest thing for us, and it's fun to just keep moving forward," Poehling said. "We have a fun group and we're fast, we're hard to play against. So I think that's kind of our group that we just have to worry about."

Alexandre Texier and Boone Jenner scored for Columbus (4-11-4), which lost for the ninth straight game (0-7-2) and played without forward Patrik Laine, who was scratched. Spencer Martin made 21 saves.

"The streak we're on, we have to have a lot better effort if we want to get out of it," Jenner said.

Poehling's three-point game was his first since he scored a hat trick in his NHL debut on April 6, 2019, with the Montreal Canadiens. He had two points (one goal, one assist) in his first 14 games, but coach John Tortorella had been impressed with the forward's play and recently moved him from fourth-line center to a top-nine role.

"The thing that sticks out to me with him is he can skate," Tortorella said. "He's long, he can skate. Talked to his prior coach (Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins), I got some information on him there. And I just want to see him up in the lineup and see if he's going to sink or swim there. And I think he's done some really good things. He's been a good player for us all year long."

Poehling said the trust Tortorella is showing him has been a confidence boost, even when he was scratched three times in the previous nine games.

"'Torts' is always going to be honest with you and I appreciate that," Poehling said. "So even when I was getting scratched, he told me just hang in there. Just having his trust like that and producing the way I have been, it's been good."

Farabee gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 5:11 of the first period when he scored on a backhand off the rush.

Texier tied the game 1-1 at 15:02 when he scored from the high slot during a delayed penalty.

Bobby Brink, who had been scratched the three previous games, put the Flyers ahead 2-1 at 1:11 of the second period with a power-play goal.

"I knew that I was going to have a lane there," Brink said. "We've kind of talked about shooting and the front of the net guy setting a good screen and 'Beezer' [Farabee] did that. When he sets a screen like that, you've just got to put it in a spot, and it ended up going in."

Poehling made it 3-1 at 6:41 when he finished a 2-on-0 short-handed rush. The goal was upheld after video review showed the puck completely crossed the goal line.

Columbus went 0-for-5 and didn't have a shot on goal on the power play.

“The power play hurts us," Jenner said. "That's on us. We have chances, we can't give up a shorty. We have chances to get back in it too. We have to find a way to get it going. You can see it but it's hurting us."

Jenner's goal made it 3-2 at 17:57. He was at the net when a shot by Ivan Provorov went off his leg and in. It was Provorov's first game in Philadelphia since he was part of a three-team trade that included the Los Angeles Kings on June 6. The defenseman played his first seven NHL seasons with the Flyers.

Travis Konecny scored to make it 4-2 at 12:40 of the third period after the Blue Jackets let the puck go into their zone on a line change. York scored an empty-net goal at 17:34 for the 5-2 final.

NOTES: Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson left the game after Poehling's short-handed goal because of an upper-body injury. Coach Pascal Vincent did not have an update after the game. ... Columbus' nine-game skid is its longest since it lost nine in a row (0-7-2) from April 8-25, 2021. ... The Flyers lead the NHL with five short-handed goals. … The Flyers went 1-for-4 on the power play after going 2-for-4 in its 4-3 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. The Flyers have scored power-play goals in consecutive games; they also did it Oct. 26-28. ... Philadelphia defenseman Sean Walker extended his point streak four games (one goal, four assists) with an assist on Poehling's short-handed goal. ... Flyers forward Owen Tippett had his four-game goal and point streaks ended.