James van Riemsdyk Scores 2, Flyers Beat Blue Jackets 7-4

PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Hayes scored the go-ahead short-handed goal late in Philadelphia’s five-goal third period, and the Flyers rallied to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 Saturday night.

James van Riemsdyk had two goals and an assist, Jake Voracek added a goal and two assists, Shayne Gostisbehere had a goal and an assist, and Michael Raffl and Travis Konecny also scored for Philadelphia. Hayes and Ivan Provorov also each had two assists, and Brian Elliott finished with 22 saves to help the Flyers end a five-game losing streak to their Metropolitan Division rivals.

Boone Jenner scored twice, and Pierre-Luc Dubois and Josh Anderson also had goals for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 39 shots.

Anderson’s goal 2:15 into the third period gave the Blue Jackets a 4-2 lead. The Flyers then scored five times in an 8:54 stretch in the latter half of the period to get the win.

Gostisbehere got the rally started with a slap shot with 9:08 remaining, and van Riemsdyk tipped in his second of the night to tie the score with 7:23 to go.

While killing off a tripping penalty on Sean Couturier, Hayes stuck his stick in a Columbus passing lane, picked up the puck at centre ice and then backhanded it past Korpisalo with 5:36 left for his fourth of the season.

Raffl had an empty-netter to make it 6-4 with 1:39 remaining, and Konecny capped the scoring with the Flyers’ second power-play goal of the night in the final minute.

Notes

Columbus F Alexandre Texier did not return to the game after suffering a lower body injury in the second period. … Philadelphia D Robert Hagg returned to the ice in the second period after catching a high stick in the face from Columbus D Dean Kukan. … Columbus was 0 for 5 on the power play while Philadelphia was 2-for-4. … This was the first of four meetings between the two division rivals this season. Columbus lost for just the sixth time in 25 meetings (23-5-1) with Philadelphia, dating back to December 2013.

Up Next

Flyers: Visit the New York Islanders on Sunday night to begin a three-game road trip within the Metropolitan Division.

Blue Jackets: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night to begin six straight games against the Western Conference.

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