Ottawa Senators forward William Eklund left the home opener after a first-period lower-body injury, but Carter Yakemchuk supplied the late winner as the Senators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
Yakemchuk broke a 1-1 tie with 6:59 remaining in regulation, stepping into a one-timer from the blue line on Ottawa’s power play. The shot beat Flyers goalie Joseph Woll cleanly and gave the Senators their third win in four games.
Linus Ullmark turned aside 28 shots for Ottawa, now 3-1-0. Woll made 24 saves for Philadelphia, which remains winless at 0-3-2 after five games.
After the horn
Nick Cousins opened the scoring at 10:14 of the first period. Tyler Kleven fired from the point and Cousins got his stick on the puck in front, redirecting it beyond Woll for a 1-0 Ottawa lead.
Philadelphia drew even on its own power play at 7:46 of the second. Trevor Zegras sent a shot toward the net that slipped through Ullmark’s pads, and Matvei Michkov reached the loose puck first, finishing with a backhand tap-in.
The Senators lost Eklund earlier in the night after he was driven awkwardly into the boards by Philadelphia defenseman Simon Benoit. Eklund could not put weight on his left leg while being helped from the ice and did not return.
- Ottawa: 3-1-0
- Philadelphia: 0-3-2
- Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark: 28 saves
- Philadelphia goalie Joseph Woll: 24 saves
- Game-winning goal: Carter Yakemchuk, power play, 13:01 of the third period
