Sean Couturier scored 18 seconds into overtime and the Philadelphia Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday night after retiring the No. 88 jersey of Hall of Fame center Eric Lindros.
Couturier took a feed from Travis Konecny and beat Frederik Anderson with a wrist shot to give the Flyers their fifth win in six games.
Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds scored early in the third period for the Flyers. Michal Neuvirth stopped 29 shots, including a sprawling pad save on Patrick Marleau with 2:48 left in regulation.
Fourth-liners Connor Brown and Frederik Gauthier scored 28 seconds apart in the second period for Toronto in its season-high fourth straight loss. Andersen made 34 saves.
Patrick ended Philadelphia’s streak of seven unanswered goals allowed with an unassisted tally 2:07 into the third. It was the 19-year-old’s first in 25 games and third of the season for the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft.
The Flyers tied it just over a minute later while short-handed, with Simmonds picking up his 16th goal with Jori Lehtera in the box.
Brown scored on a breakaway at 12:57 after Shayne Gostisbehere’s giveaway in the neutral zone. Gauthier then made it 2-0 from the slot. It was the first goal of the season and third of the career for the 22-year-old.
But the Flyers rallied on an emotional night for the franchise.
The big and skillful Lindros, who grew up watching the hometown Maple Leafs in Ontario, spent eight seasons with the Flyers. He won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 1995 and helped Philadelphia reach the Stanley Cup Final two years later.
Back on good terms with the organization after an ugly 2001 departure, Lindros received several standing ovations before his number was hoisted to the rafters in a ceremony that delayed the start by an hour.
As Lindros watched from a suite, the Flyers controlled the third period and improved to just 3-8 in overtime.
NOTES: The Flyers considered but decided against challenging Gauthier’s goal as offside. . Toronto D Morgan Rielly, who left the ice in pain after the second period, returned for the third. . Gauthier played ahead of Dominic Moore. . Tyrell Goulbourne was back on the Flyers’ fourth line after being scratched Tuesday. . Flyers rookie D Travis Sanheim was a healthy scratch for the seventh time in eight games.
