Carter Yakemchuk broke a third-period deadlock on the power play to propel the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Nick Cousins opened the scoring for Ottawa 10:14 into the first period, deflecting a shot past goaltender Joseph Woll for his first goal of the season. Tyler Kleven and Warren Foegele picked up the assists on the even-strength tally to give the Senators an early lead.
Philadelphia answered back midway through the second period during a man advantage. Matvei Michkov buried a backhand shot at 7:46 of the middle frame for his second goal of the season, capitalizing on assists from Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny to tie the contest at 1-1.
The Senators regained the lead for good at 13:01 of the third period on Yakemchuk's power-play marker. Yakemchuk connected on a slap shot set up by Claude Giroux and Shane Pinto, netting his first goal of the campaign and sealing the win for the hosts.
Linus Ullmark secured the victory in net for Ottawa, turning aside 28 of the 29 shots he faced. Woll took the loss for Philadelphia after making 24 saves on 26 shots. Both clubs converted once with the man advantage, with Ottawa finishing 1-for-5 and Philadelphia going 1-for-4.
The win lifted Ottawa to a 3-1-0 record on the season, while the Flyers dropped to 0-3-2 and remain winless through their first five games.
The Flyers return to action on Monday, October 19, when they host the Colorado Avalanche. The Senators next host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, October 21.
