Flyers hand Blue Jackets sixth straight loss
PHILADELPHIA -- Forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Jakub Voracek and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Ivan Provorov scored goals on the Flyers' first 15 shots and Steve Mason stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced, leading the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 win over the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Flyers (39-33-9), who close out the regular season on Sunday night when they face the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite a 5-1-1 run, the Flyers will not be participating in the playoffs for the third time in five years.
The Blue Jackets (49-24-8) received goals from defenseman Seth Jones and forward Boone Jenner, but remained winless in six games (0-5-1) and have been outscored 21-11 in that stretch.
Columbus has gone 2-6-2 since clinching a playoff berth on March 19. The Blue Jackets close out the regular season Sunday in Toronto and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.
In what was likely their final regular season games of the season, Mason improved to 26-21-8 and Sergei Bobrovsky fell to 41-17-5.
Coming off a 1-0 overtime loss to the Devils, the Flyers grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals 1:32 apart by Bellemare and Del Zotto.
Bellemare scored his fourth goal of the season on a hard snap shot 12:52 into the first period and Del Zotto found the back of the net for his sixth of the season after Bobrovsky lost his balance just outside the crease. Del Zotto’s goal was originally disallowed on the ice because Sean Couturier appeared to make contact with Bobrovsky. The Flyers challenged the call and the ruling was overturned.
The Blue Jackets drew to within 2-1 just 67 seconds into the second period on Jones' power-play goal, his 12th of the season, which deflected off Provorov and past Mason. The power-play goal snapped an 0-for-20 drought for Columbus.
After a roughing penalty to Scott Hartnell, the Flyers restored their two-goal lead on Voracek's 20th goal of the season and fifth on the power play. Provorov made it 4-1 with his seventh goal of the season, a rising shot that beat Bobrovsky over his blocker.
The Blue Jackets again drew within two goals on Jenner's 18th goal of the season, which caromed off the stick of Del Zotto and past Mason.
NOTES: D Zach Werenski (upper body) sat out his third straight game for the Blue Jackets. Rookie D Gabriel Carlsson, a first-round draft pick of the Blue Jackets in 2015, replaced him and made his NHL debut on a top unit with Seth Jones. ... Before the game, the Flyers handed out their annual awards. Most Valuable Player went to RW Wayne Simmonds, top defenseman went to rookie Ivan Provorov, most improved went to D Radko Gudas and class guy went to G Steve Mason. … Flyers rookie RW Mike Vecchione, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award that went to Denver's Will Butcher as college hockey's top player, was a healthy scratch. ... The Flyers paid tribute to former player and long-time European scout Ilkka Sinisalo, who passed away at age 58 on Wednesday. … Former Vice President Joe Biden attended the game and was presented a Flyers jersey in honor of his son, Beau Biden, who passed away from brain cancer in 2015.