Flyers seek a regulation win at Blue Jackets

The Philadelphia Flyers will look for their second consecutive victory when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

The Flyers picked up a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, thanks to one goal and one assist each from Sean Couturier and Jake Voracek. Second-year goaltender Carter Hart made 16 saves and the Flyers won a rare game in regulation.

Philadelphia has competed in a league-high eight shootouts.

Couturier and Voracek have been playing at a much higher level since recently being paired on the same line.

"I'm moving a little bit better and I think I have the swagger back," Voracek said. "If I don't play with a swagger, I think that's what I was missing. I got the swagger back, and that (bleep) you attitude that I need to have, too, to be successful."

Since being placed on Couturier's line, Voracek has scored two goals and added one assist. Before that streak, Voracek went 11 consecutive games without a goal.

"We've played a lot together the last few years, last year especially," Couturier said. "Me, him and Oskar (Lindblom), we finished the season together and finished pretty strong. We know each other. We know how we play and we try to use our strength to our advantage. We're three guys who are pretty strong on pucks and can extend possession."

The Flyers have made a habit of allowing late goals recently, with many of their games spilling past regulation. In their past 13 outings, Philadelphia has played in overtime or a shootout eight times.

But their 2-1 victory against the Canucks on Monday finished in regulation. It's a trend they're determined to continue.

"Everybody's buying in, playing a simple game and getting pucks deep," defenseman Robert Hagg told Inquirer.com. "I really felt good about our game and we need to stick with it for 60 minutes."

The Blue Jackets are coming off a tough 1-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, thanks to Oliver Bjorkstrand's goal 21 seconds into the third period.

Bjorkstrand was rewarded with a goal because of his effort and determination, according to Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella.

"I said to him on the bench, if there's someone who deserves that goal, it's you," Tortorella said. "I thought he was playing really well. He's been really consistent. He's turning into that guy. That's what we expect out of him now -- how hard he is on the puck, how hard he is in that area, and the puck follows him around."

Bjorkstrand scored his sixth goal of the season and extended his point streak to four games when he tapped home a pass from Zach Werenski into the net early in the third period.

"They seemed to do a good job of making it hard for us," Bjorkstrand said. "It was kind of both ways today. Just one of those games ... where one goal makes the difference."

The one goal was enough as goaltender Joonas Korpisalo picked up his second career shutout.

As a result, the Blue Jackets earned their fourth win in five games.

"We got some chances before (the goal), stayed patient and finally got the goal there. That was huge," said Korpisalo, who made 25 saves. "I think we played really good after that."

--Field Level Media