Senators vs. Flyers: Carter Yakemchuk's Late Power-Play Goal Wins Ottawa's Home Opener

Carter Yakemchuk had one NHL goal to his name coming into Thursday night. He picked a pretty good moment to double that total. With 6:59 left in a tie game, the 21-year-old defenseman leaned into a one-timer from the point on a power play and sent Canadian Tire Centre into a home-opener frenzy.

The Ottawa Senators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1, with Linus Ullmark making 28 saves and Nick Cousins scoring the other Ottawa goal. For the Flyers, it was another night of almost, and they are still searching for their first win of the season.

Cousins Strikes, Michkov Answers

The first period was a parade to the penalty box. Ottawa got four power plays before intermission and came up empty on all of them, so naturally the only goal came at even strength. At 10:14, Tyler Kleven fired from the point and Cousins got a piece of it in front, redirecting it past Joseph Woll. Warren Foegele also assisted.

Senators coach Travis Green knew this would not be a stroll.

"You knew Philly was going to play a hell of a game tonight," Green said. "I thought they did. It was just a greasy, greasy game that had a lot of intensity to it, and we wanted to win that."

Philadelphia tied it on the power play at 7:46 of the second. Kleven had gone off for hooking 42 seconds earlier. Trevor Zegras let a shot go that dribbled through Ullmark, and Matvei Michkov swooped in to backhand it over the line. Travis Konecny got the second assist. It was Michkov's second goal of the season.

The Senators also lost forward William Eklund in the first period. Per NHL.com, he was helped off with a lower-body injury after being hit awkwardly into the boards by Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit, could not put weight on his left leg and did not return. Green had no update afterward.

The Turning Point: A Wasted 5-on-3

The third period hinged on the Flyers' best chance to win it. At 7:50, per NHL.com, Philadelphia got a two-man advantage for 27 seconds. It came up empty. Zegras put that on himself.

"I mean, I think the 5-on-3 at the end is probably the spot where we need to get one, and I take responsibility for that," Zegras said.

Five minutes later, the momentum swung for good. Michael Bunting, playing his first game for the Flyers after signing Tuesday, per the AP, went off for hooking Thomas Chabot at 11:09. On the ensuing power play, Claude Giroux slid a feed to the point, and Yakemchuk teed up a one-timer and rifled it by Woll at 13:01. Shane Pinto got the second assist.

"Ah, I was excited," Yakemchuk said. "I think we battled hard all game, and to finally get rewarded with one on the power play felt really good. So it was a nice moment."

Yakemchuk and Ullmark Lead the Way

Per NHL.com, it was Yakemchuk's second NHL goal after he scored once in four games last season. He played 14:45, and his coach made clear the staff had kept faith in him.

"If you know you get a special talent, you hope that it comes through, and I think tonight was a great example of that," Green said. "It'd be easy to just not play him or put someone else out there, but we stuck with him."

Ullmark was the steady hand at the other end, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced. The Flyers outshot Ottawa 29-26, and Ullmark's teammates helped him with 20 blocked shots, nearly double Philadelphia's 11. Pinto was a workhorse in the middle, winning 15 of 20 faceoffs in 22:50. Giroux added three hits to go with his assist, and Kleven was everywhere on the back end, pairing his assist with two hits and two blocked shots in 18:29.

Woll was terrific in a losing effort for Philadelphia, making 24 saves on 26 shots. Michkov scored, Zegras logged 19:25 and set up the goal, Konecny added an assist and three hits, and the Flyers' power play produced a goal. It still was not enough.

Ottawa defenseman Hoyt Stanley also made his NHL debut, per the AP.

Stats That Matter

• 6:59: Time left in regulation when Yakemchuk scored the winner.
• 28 of 29: Ullmark's saves.
• 20-11: Blocked shots, Senators over Flyers.
• 1 for 4 and 1 for 5: The power plays, Philadelphia and Ottawa respectively. Each team scored once on the man advantage.
• 0-3-2: Philadelphia's record. Per NHL.com, it is the first time since a 0-3-3 start in 2008-09 that the Flyers have opened with five straight losses.

What It Means

Ottawa improves to 3-1-0 and 1-0-0 at home, bouncing back from a 5-3 loss at Detroit on Tuesday. The Senators have won on the road at Toronto and Boston and now in their own building. Captain Chabot liked how the group stayed patient through a stretch when nothing was going in.

"It was awesome. I think we stuck with it the whole way," Chabot said.

Philadelphia falls to 0-3-2. Three of the five losses have been by a single goal, two of them in overtime. Captain Sean Couturier tried to find the bright side.

"We didn't get the result that we needed, but at least we got a good effort," Couturier said. "We can build on some good things that we did tonight, at least."

Coach Rick Tocchet struck a similar note.

"We competed well, the passing was better, so yeah, there's something to build on there," Tocchet said.

The Flyers visit Boston on Saturday, while Ottawa hosts Nashville on Saturday night.

The Takeaway

The Flyers are living in a sitcom where too many episodes end one joke short. Three of their five losses have been one-goal games, and the effort has been there more often than the results. On Thursday, a 21-year-old defenseman with one previous career goal was the difference. Ottawa will take it, and Philadelphia will spend another day wondering when the punchline finally breaks its way.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.