Three Takeaways from Philadelphia Flyers' 4-3 win over Minnesota Wild in OT

The Philadelphia Flyers visited the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis on Friday night, skating away with a 4-3 victory in overtime. Joel Farabee tallied the game-winner, his second lamplighter of the night.

The visiting Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period, halting Marc-Andre Fleury's quest to secure win No. 553 to become the second-winningest goalie in NHL history.

Overall, the win helped Philadelphia in the standings, while the loss kept Minnesota at the bottom of a seven-team race for a wild-card position in the Western Conference. Let's get into some key takeaways from Friday's contest.

---

Three Takeaways from Philadelphia Flyers' 4-3 win over Minnesota Wild in OT

#1. Marc-Andre Fleury is snakebitten again on his quest for history

At 39, Fleury has had a subpar season, serving as the backup to Filip Gustavsson. After last night's game, his season statistics include a 7-9-3 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and .892 save percentage.

Since the Wild lost Gustavsson to an injury on Dec. 30, 2023, Fleury was given the starting job again and underperformed in seven games with a 1-4-1 record and an abysmal .891 save percentage.

Despite tying Patrick Roy with win No. 552 on Jan. 6, Fleury's been so inconsistent there's no guarantee he'll get the next victory soon. Last night, he faced 35 shots, the third most he's faced all season, and is now 1-2 when facing that many shots in a contest.

#2. Flyers win games thanks to multiple goal scorers

Joel Farabee is the Flyers' second-leading scorer behind NHL All-Star Travis Konecny, and on Friday, he collected his first two-goal game of the 2023-24 season, including his second game-winner.

Joel Farabee, Philadelphia Flyers

Considering the Flyers are chasing a Metropolitan Division playoff spot, they got goals from Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster and Farabee. Scoring by committee means they don't rely on just one or two players to carry the offense, which is why they are so competitive this season.

Moreover, Philadelphia had 35 shots in the game, the 20th time they had at least that amount against any opponent, including both meetings against the Wild. Interestingly, they are 9-9-2 in those games.

#3. Wild are slowly watching their season slip away

After starting 6-10-4, the Willd fired coach Dean Evason on Nov. 28, 2023. Although they bounced back with an impressive 10-3-0 stretch, the team has returned to its losing ways.

Without Gustavsson in the lineup, Minnesota is 1-6-1 in its last eight games and has been outscored 15-32, watching several teams keep climbing in the standings while it remains stagnant.

On Friday, the Wild had a chance to pick up points outside of the Western Conference to help their cause but didn't even get the extra point by getting the game into the shootout. They need to step it up after in the second half or risk becoming sellers at the upcoming NHL trade deadline.