Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Artem Anisimov scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets scored three unanswered goals to top the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Friday.
Columbus entered the game 0-20-0 when trailing after two periods, and it was the last team in the NHL to earn a point in that situation.
Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist and Jared Boll and Cam Atkinson also tallied goals for the Blue Jackets.
Curtis McElhinney made 22 saves to help Columbus win for the third time in four games.
Despite the loss, the Flyers extended their point streak to eight games, in large part due to Ray Emery's 29 saves.
"Any time you're up 3-1 in the third, you want to put that away for sure," said Emery.
Wayne Simmonds scored two goals and added an assist on Sean Couturier's marker.
Just 3 1/2 minutes after Philadelphia went up 3-1, Boll ended a 63-game goal drought. The defense failed to pick Boll up in front of the net as his line cycled the puck and he redirected Corey Tropp's pass into the net.
"It feels good to contribute at that point of the game," said Boll. "We needed a goal, and I think everyone on the ice touched the puck to make it happen."
With less than five minutes to play, the Blue Jackets tied the score. Philadelphia was caught in a slow line change as Columbus entered the zone on a 3-on-2. Emery was able to stop Scott Hartnell's shot, but Atkinson knocked in the rebound.
Anisimov ended a scoring drought of his own when he scored the winning goal. Having not scored in 20 games dating back to Oct. 11, he was alone in front to pick up the rebound from James Wisniewski's slap shot and put it past Emery.
Much of the early portion of the first period was played around Emery, and it took over seven minutes for the Flyers to finally get their first shot on goal.
Past the midpoint of the first period, Simmonds used his speed to burst into the Columbus zone with a pass from Matt Read. He split two defenders and wristed the puck past McElhinney for his 20th goal of the season.
At 8:09 in the second period, the constant Blue Jackets pressure finally paid off with a goal. After Read fell down, Columbus was able to keep the puck in the zone, Dubinsky redirected Kevin Connauton's pass through Emery's pads for the equalizer.
The Flyers took advantage of a rare scoring opportunity late in the second. The puck popped up in the air after Simmonds' shot from along the boards and Couturier swatted at the puck a couple times to knock the puck into the net.
After an unproductive power play to start the third period, Simmonds cashed in on a second chance five minutes into the period. McElhinney made the initial save on Claude Giroux's slap shot, but he could not stop Simmonds on the rebound.
Game Notes
Prior to the game, Columbus honored Hartnell for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on Monday. Hartnell played 517 games with the Flyers before last year's trade that sent him to the Blue Jackets ... Hartnell's assist extended his point streak to five games ... Philadelphia defenseman Andrew MacDonald missed the game following a death in the family ... The Flyers were 13-0-2 when leading after two periods ... The five-game season series wraps up on Tuesday.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.