Trevor Zegras buried a sharp-angle shot five-hole past Casey DeSmith at 1:33 of overtime Sunday night, and just like that, the Philadelphia Flyers had themselves a statement win. Final score: Flyers 2, Stars 1.
This wasn’t just any overtime victory. With the postseason picture tightening by the day, Philadelphia’s 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on March 29, 2026 was exactly the kind of result that keeps a long-shot playoff run alive — and gives an increasingly dangerous team something to believe in. The Flyers, sitting at 37-24-12 with 86 points, have now gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. That’s not a fluke. That’s a team finding its legs at the right time.
How It Happened
The game was tight from the start — the kind of Sunday night grind where every shift felt earned. Philadelphia drew first blood in the second period when Travis Konecny converted on a power-play wraparound at 9:48, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead that felt, briefly, comfortable. It didn’t last. Dallas answered on a shorthanded goal from Arttu Hyry at 17:53 of the same period, a gut-punch that knotted things up at one and sent the game into a scoreless third.
Then came overtime. Cam York sprung Zegras on a rush — the kind of play that looks effortless in real time and impossibly precise on the replay — and Zegras did what he does. One shot, five-hole, game over. Philadelphia’s bench erupted.
Zegras Carries His Weight
At this point in the season, it’s worth stepping back and appreciating what Zegras has quietly built. The former Anaheim winger now carries 22 goals, 36 assists, and 58 points on the year, shooting at a 14.3% clip on 154 shots. That’s not a reclamation project anymore. That’s a genuine top-six forward playing some of the best hockey of his career, producing when it counts most.
Sunday’s winner was vintage Zegras — instinctive, almost casual in its execution, deadly in its result.
Ersson Holds the Line
Credit where it’s due: Samuel Ersson was solid between the pipes all night. He stopped 17 of 18 shots and picked up an assist on the overtime winner, giving him a rare two-way night that doesn’t show up in the traditional goaltender stat line. Dallas was held largely in check — not because the Stars lacked firepower, but because Ersson and the Flyers’ penalty killers made sure they paid for very little. DeSmith, meanwhile, was outstanding in a losing effort, turning aside 28 shots for Dallas, who have now dropped five of their last six, according to the league’s official recap.
The Bigger Picture
Still, nobody in the Flyers’ locker room is celebrating too loudly. Philadelphia sits four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, with just 10 games remaining. That’s a narrow window. Coming off a 5-1 demolition of Detroit on Saturday, the Flyers are playing their best hockey of the season — but the math doesn’t care about momentum. Every point matters now, and the margin for error is essentially gone.
That’s the catch. You can go 8-1-1 in your last 10 and still need help. Philadelphia knows that. They’re doing their part.
A New Face Arrives
There was a subplot Sunday that deserves its own mention. The Flyers signed top 2025 draft pick Porter Martone to a three-year entry-level contract, with the young forward reportedly arriving at the arena during the second period. Whether Martone suits up as soon as Tuesday remains to be seen — the team noted it would happen, “assuming everything goes according to plan” — but his arrival signals that Philadelphia is thinking beyond just this week. They’re building something.
Whether this group has enough runway to actually reach the playoffs is still an open question. But right now, the Flyers are the hottest team nobody’s talking about — and Trevor Zegras just gave them one more reason to keep the conversation going.
