Determined Flyers put it together in 4-3 overtime win over Blackhawks

From Philadelphia — The Philadelphia Flyers skipped the gamesmanship Wednesday and played the game.

They shut up for the most part and shut down the Chicago Blackhawks’ power play for the third game in a row.

Inspired by a roaring crowd at the Wachovia Center, a video of the late Kate Smith singing “God Bless America” when she was the good luck charm of the 1974 and 1975 champion Flyers and a determination honed by constant adversity, the Flyers put together their finest effort in the three games of the Stanley Cup finals and earned their first victory.

Claude Giroux’s tip-in 5 minutes 59 seconds into overtime gave the Flyers a 4-3 triumph and broke a seven-game losing streak in the Cup finals that began in Game 7 against Edmonton in 1987. Merely 52 seconds after an apparent Flyers goal was waved off, Giroux got his stick on a shot by Matt Carle with enough strength for it to trickle past a besieged Antti Niemi and cut the Blackhawks’ series lead to 2-1.

“I just had that good feeling we were going to win tonight,” said forward Daniel Briere, who had passed to Carle as the defenseman joined the rush.

“It was just that feeling we were going to do everything possible to get it done.”

They outshot the Blackhawks, 15-4, in the third period, the second straight game in which they’ve been the stronger team in the third period. They again held power forward Dustin Byfuglien, so dominant in the Blackhawks’ Western Conference finals triumph over Vancouver, to no points.

They built and lost leads of 1-0 and 2-1 and didn’t panic after the Blackhawks surged ahead at 2:50 of the third period, on a breakaway by Patrick Kane. Ville Leino matched that 20 seconds later after a shot by Giroux bounced off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Jordan Hendry and over to Leino on the left side.

And even though the Flyers lost an apparent goal 5:02 into overtime when video review showed the puck hadn’t crossed the line, they continued a season of comebacks by generating a goal whose legitimacy and importance were undisputed.

Everything they’ve endured — losing key players to injuries, switching coaches and struggling to adjust to Peter Laviolette’s up-tempo style, making the playoffs on the final day of the regular season only by winning a shootout — prepared them for this, though they couldn’t know it.

“We have had to learn on the fly,” said Chris Pronger, again a dominant force in playing a game-high 32:07.

“I don’t think anybody has ever questioned, in the locker room, anyway. I’m sure some of you clowns have, but we haven’t questioned ourselves or questioned exactly what it is we’re trying to do. We’ve struggled at times and been able to turn the corner and figure it out.”

The Flyers fed off the crowd’s energy in the early going and scored the only goal of the first period, during a power play. Defenseman Braydon Coburn took a shot that bounced in front, where Scott Hartnell took a spinning, twirling lunge at it. Briere swatted the rebound past Niemi at 14:58.

The Blackhawks tied it at 2:49 of the second period, after Duncan Keith’s 50-foot shot deflected off the stick of Jeff Carter and past a surprised Michael Leighton.

A video review confirmed the Flyers’ second goal, a deflection by Hartnell that was nearly scooped off the goal line by Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, and the clock was set back to 9:55 of the period. But the Blackhawks pulled even at 17:52 of the second period after fourth-line center John Madden beat No. 1 Flyers center Mike Richards on a faceoff in Philadelphia’s zone and drew the puck back to Brent Sopel, whose 60-foot shot appeared to deflect off Richards before getting past Leighton at 17:52.

The Blackhawks took their first lead of the game on Kane’s breakaway, set up by a nifty pass from Jonathan Toews, but their edge lasted only 20 seconds. Giroux ended the game with a flourish and ended the Blackhawks’ seven-game playoff road winning streak.

“We like our position,” Keith said. “At the same time, we’re not happy about tonight.”

For the Flyers, it was just another night at the office.

“Any time we get adversity we find a way to get it done,” Giroux said. “We just got a lot of character in the room.”

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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