Stutzle scores twice, Senators rally past Flyers

Tim Stützle scored twice for the Ottawa Senators, who rallied with four straight goals to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

“A great comeback win,” Stutzle said. “We weren’t really playing well in the first. But that’s what we’ve got to keep doing: we’ve got to stick with it, keep playing our game and then chances will follow. A good game by a lot of guys.”

Zack MacEwen, Claude Giroux and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the Senators (17-24-1), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games following a five-game losing streak. Mads Sogaard made 22 saves for his first win of the season.

“We just kept battling,” Sogaard said. “We believed in each other and we stuck with it, and in the end, we came out on top. It feels really good, and it feels good to be able to contribute to a win.”

Shane Pinto had one assist and a plus-2 rating in 14:33 of ice time in his season debut after serving a 41-game suspension for violating the NHL gambling policy.

“A long time coming,” Pinto said. “Just glad we got the two points, and it’s just good to be back. Got my first game over with and now, I can just focus on hockey.”

Egor Zamula had two goals and an assist, Joel Farabee had a goal and two assists, and Samuel Ersson made 29 saves for the Flyers (25-16-6).

“We did not spend enough time in their zone,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. “We didn’t generate enough. Against that team, you let some of their skill play more in your end, it’s a recipe for not a really good game.”

Zamula gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 11:57 of the first period. He was the only player to notice the loose puck off a rebound and shot it past Sogaard from the left point on the power play.

“I just see [the] rebound, puck goes to the left side, I see the puck and I think nobody sees,” Zamula said. “I just look on net and I see [the] open net and everybody looking to the right side. I’m happy to shoot on open net.”

Zamula made it 2-0 at 16:40 with a wrist shot through traffic from the high slot.

MacEwen cut it to 2-1 with a wrist shot over the glove on a partial breakaway at 4:04.

“It’s not just the top nine, I think it’s the top 12,” Stutzle said of the team’s forward depth. “I mean, look at [MacEwen]. Every time he’s gotten in the lineup, he’s been playing really well, getting goals, big goals for us.”

Farabee pushed it to 3-1 at 10:50 with a wrist shot from the left point that went in off the post on the power play.

Stutzle cut it to 3-2 at 11:45 when he poked in a loose puck from the crease during a delayed penalty.

Giroux tied it 3-3 at 3:19 of the third peiriod, kicking a rebound from his skate to his stick and scoring with a backhand. 

Tarasenko then one-timed a cross-ice pass from Mathieu Joseph on a 2-on-1 to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead at 15:07.

“Even after getting behind, we stuck with the game plan,” Senators coach Jacques Martin said. “I think we stuck with our structure, and I thought we had great commitment from our 20 guys tonight. I thought that we got contributions from everybody.”

Stutzle scored into an empty net for the 5-3 final at 18:37.

Both teams were playing the second half of a back-to-back. Ottawa lost 2-1 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets, and Philadelphia lost 7-4 to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

“Everyone’s playing tired, I think it’s just a mental focus thing,” Farabee said. “Obviously, some bounces didn’t go our way, but I feel like the effort was there. I feel like we put ourselves in a good [position], and especially at this time of year, you’ve just got to bear down and get those two points.”

NOTES: Senators defenseman Travis Hamonic left midway through the first period with an upper-body injury after a collision with Flyers forward Travis Konecny. There was no update after the game. … Farabee has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak. … Philadelphia forward Owen Tippett did not play and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.