• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Flyers conclude homestand against Blues

Mar 5, 2015 - 2:42 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Flyers try to end a three-game homestand with a much-needed victory, as the playoff-hopeful club welcomes the St. Louis Blues for Thursday's tilt at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers have lost three of four, but have earned points in both tests on their current residency, beating the New York Rangers on Saturday before losing 3-2 in overtime Tuesday against Calgary.

With only 18 games remaining in its schedule, Philadelphia is running out of time to prove itself worthy of a postseason spot. The Flyers are five points behind Boston for the last wild card berth in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins, who hold two games in hand over Philadelphia, host the Flames on Thursday.

Philadelphia trailed Calgary 2-0 after two periods, but the home club rallied in the third. Sean Couturier and Mark Streit scored for the Flyers, while Nick Schultz also appeared to pot a third-period marker for Philly until the goal was disallowed following a brief conference between the officials.

The Flyers ultimately lost the contest after Jiri Hudler beat Steve Mason between the pads to end the game at 1:23 of overtime. Mason stopped 23 shots in the loss.

After Couturier cut the deficit to 2-1 less than a minute into the third, the Flyers believed they had the tying goal at the 4:58 mark. Schultz crashed the net and his own rebound deflected off his knee and past Flames goaltender Karri Ramo.

Despite a good goal call on the ice, the officials ultimately determined that the play could not be reviewed since Schultz pushed Ramo into the net and the score was disallowed.

"Called it a goal originally on the ice, but they huddled because ... I don't know," said Flyers head coach Craig Berube. "A linesman might have said something different, and they huddled. In their huddle they decided that there was incidental contact with the goalie."

Streit would later tie the game for Philly when he scored on a rebound from in close.

The Flyers fell to 18-8-6 as the host. After capping the homestand tonight, they will play three of their next four on the road, beginning with Saturday's test in Boston.

St. Louis, which sits four points behind NHL-leading Nashville for first place in the Central Division, plays tonight for the first time since losing Sunday's game in Vancouver, 6-5, in a shootout.

The Blues rallied to earn the point at Rogers Arena, storming back from a 5-2 deficit in the third period before Canucks forward Chris Higgins delivered the decisive goal in the third round of the shootout.

Ryan Reaves, Alex Pietrangelo, Dmitrij Jaskin, Petteri Lindbohm and David Backes lit the lamp for the Blues, while T.J. Oshie recorded three assists.

Jaskin began the St. Louis comeback by notching a power-play goal at 8:18 of the third period, just over two minutes after Nick Bonino handed the hosts a 5-2 cushion. Lindbohm cut the deficit to one goal with 5:41 left in regulation before Backes evened the score just 72 seconds later.

Jake Allen surrendered four goals on 25 shots through most of regulation, but was beaten three times in the contest's final segment in defeat. Brian Elliott gave up one goal on six shots during a brief appearance at the outset of the third.

Elliott is expected to get the start tonight and owns a 5-2-0 record and a 2.48 goals against average in his career versus Philadelphia.

The Blues fell to 2-0-1 on their current six-game road trip and is 18-10-3 as the guest this season. St. Louis will have some new faces in the lineup when it continues the swing in Philly, as defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and centerman Olli Jokinen expect to play for their new team after being picked up at Monday's trade deadline.

St. Louis landed Bortuzzo and a seventh-round draft pick in 2016 by sending defenseman Ian Cole to Pittsburgh. The Blues acquired Jokinen from Toronto in exchange for forward Joakim Lindstrom and a sixth-round selection.

The Blues also received defenseman Zbynek Michalek and a third-round pick for forward prospect Maxim Letunov, but Michalek is currently on the shelf with a concussion and isn't expected to play tonight.

Tonight's test is the first of two between the Flyers and Blues this season and St. Louis has claimed three of the last four encounters. Philly has won three of four and seven of the past nine meetings in the City of Brotherly Love.

The clubs will complete their 2014-15 series next Thursday in St. Louis.