Saturday night was an unusual sighting for Flyers Fans.

The opponents scored a goal.

The Flyers looked slow again in the early stages of the first period until Simon Gagne netted his third tally of the season on a great setup from Daniel Briere and Braydon Coburn. Gagne would add his fourth only 48 seconds into overtime to seal the deal for the Flyers. It was also Gagne’s 400 career point in the NHL.

Marty Biron’s shutout streak ended however at over 143 minutes of play as Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes scored six minutes into the first period to tie the game at one. Biron again was the glue that held the Flyers together, stopping 42 of 44 shots, earning him the games first star.

The Flyers also found themselves in another rare position. Trailing 2-1 and entering the third period loosing for the first time this season. Mike Richards answered 1:32 seconds into the final frame as he continued his hot streak with a ‘PECO power play’ goal. For Richards it was his third straight game with a goal as he passes Briere for the team lead with five.

Following Richards’ goal the Flyers outshot the Hurricanes 12-9 in the period. This was a vast improvement over the first two periods, as they got outshot 33-17. The Flyers held off the Hurricanes to force their first overtime of the season.

It only took one shot and 48 seconds for Derian Hatcher and Daniel Briere to find Gagne alone in front of the net. Almost the same spot he scored from in the first period. The play was under review after the teams left the ice due to the puck bouncing off Gagne’s skate before he slapped it in. Brier had two assists on the night for his fourth multi-point game of the year. He leads the team with 11 points.

Interesting Note: After the Flyers had one of the worst defenses last year and were always being criticized for being too slow, they answered tonight by assisting on every Flyer goal. Braydon Coburn showed his talent in the first as he went around half of the Hurricanes team to set up the game’s first goal. Kimmo Timonen made a great pass at the point on the power play to allow Richards to score his fifth of the year. And the veteran Derian Hatcher made one of his best plays all season with the game winning assist, finding Gagne wide open in overtime. The Flyers are already averaging four goals a game, imagine if the defensemen start to contribute, one can only hope.

Good luck to the Eagles tomorrow!