PHILADELPHIA -- Flyers coach Craig Berube was already getting ready for a shootout. "I honestly was ready to pull out my lineup card," he said. Claude Giroux made sure it wasnt needed. Giroux scored at 4:55 of overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Giroux received a pass from defenceman Mark Streit and carried the puck over the blue line before letting a shot go from just above the right faceoff circle, beating Antti Raanta high to the blocker side. "I went on the ice with maybe 15 seconds, 20 seconds, so I knew there wasnt a lot of time," Giroux said. "I was just trying to shoot as hard as I could to net. I didnt really aim, to be honest. I just shot it on net." Giroux had previously assisted on a Scott Hartnell goal in the first period for a two-point night. Since Chicago and Philadelphia last met on Dec. 11, in a 7-2 Blackhawks rout of the Flyers, no one in the league has been hotter Giroux. Hes led the league with 51 points in 39 games. Asked about his captains play over the past two months, Berube said, "Hes been playing well for longer than that, I think. Hes playing hard. Hes really, skating, attacking. Hes leading our team. "It starts on the bench. Hes vocal. Hes really into all the time. He does a good job of keeping everybody going." The Flyers needed that kind of leadership after a poor start. Chicago opened an offence-filled first period with two goals just 3:51 into the game. The first came when Andrew Shaw chipped a loose puck near the crease over goalie Ray Emery (23 saves) -- the result of a Brayden Schenn turnover at the other end. Less than 90 seconds later, Duncan Keith, the wide-open recipient of a pass from Jonathan Toews, overpowered Emery with a slap shot from the top of the slot. But the Flyers rebounded thanks to two goals from Hartnell, one set up by Giroux and the other by the Blackhawks. Parked behind the net, Hartnell attempted a pass that caromed off Blackhawks centre Marcus Kruger and found its way into the net off the left pad of Raanta at 5:48. Then at 16:27, Giroux walked out from behind the Blackhawks net and found Hartnell for a one-timer to tie it at 2-2. The goals were Hartnells 17th and 18th of the season. Following an exciting opening period, the pace slowed in the second, when neither team scored. Flyers forward Vinny Lecavalier was involved in two chances that nearly broke the tie in the third. His breakaway attempt with 7:40 remaining was turned away by Raantas right pad, and Schenns almost-goal just over a minute later was waved off when referees ruled Lecavalier touched the puck with a high stick on its way to the net. The Flyers nearly beat Raanta late in regulation, but neither Steve Downie, from a bad angle, nor Schenn, trying to redirect Downies shot on the far post, could put a Hartnell rebound into an open net. But after finding the post twice in regulation, Giroux finally beat Raanta in overtime. "It seems like the endings here have been pretty amazing," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, whose team won the Stanley Cup in Game 6 in OT at Wells Fargo Center in 2010. "Tough ending, but a pretty entertaining game ... a pretty intense game." A victory would have given Quenneville the 700th win of his career. His total of 699 is the most among active coaches and the third-most all-time, behind only Al Arbour (782) and Blackhawks senior adviser of hockey operations Scotty Bowman. But rather than pull out a win for their coach, the Blackhawks extended a 10-game, regular-season losing streak in Philadelphia, dating back to Nov. 9, 1996. Quenneville will try again for No. 700 on Wednesday when Chicago returns home to host the St. Louis Blues, whom the Blackhawks trail for first place in the Central Division by eight points. "Obviously, it will be a huge game for us," Quenneville said. "Itll be exciting for us to get to play these guys. I see our team responding and being excited. "Maybe we can chip away and try to catch them (for the division lead), but right now it doesnt look so hot." Notes: Scratches for the Flyers included defencemen Erik Gustafsson and Hal Gill and forward Jay Rosehill. Scratches for the Blackhawks included defencemen Michal Rozsival and David Rundbland and forward Brandon Saad. ... Despite entering the game with two units ranked in the leagues top 10, neither team could take advantage of the man advantage, going a combined 0 for 8 on the power play. ... The overtime win was the Flyers first at home in nearly a year. They topped the Washington Capitals 5-4 on March 31 of last season. Brandon Weeden Jersey Retro . Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, TSN Radio 690 in Montreal, TSN Radio 1260 in Edmonton and TEAM 1410 on Friday at 3pm et/Noon pt. Lloyd Harrison Jersey Retro . Spencer Abbott and Trevor Smith scored third-period goals erasing a 2-1 deficit giving Toronto a late 3-2 lead. https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/matt-szymanski-jersey-retro/ .Y. -- Major League Soccer has agreed to new measures to protect gay players from discrimination and harassment as a result of meetings with New Yorks attorney general. NFL Cheap Jerseys . Pace had a career-high 10 sacks for Rex Ryans defence-- second only to Muhammad Wilkersons 10 1/2 -- in his sixth season with the Jets. The 33-year-old outside linebacker was an unrestricted free agent. Wholesale Cheap Jerseys .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Kobe Bryant isnt happy about spending Christmas Day on the sideline, unable to help the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Its a place hes unaccustomed to being on the holiday. Bryant leads the NBA with a record 15 appearances on Christmas Day, but hes out an expected four to six weeks with a fracture in his left knee. "Its strange to be coming in on Christmas and not playing," he said before the Lakers hosted the streaking Miami Heat on Wednesday. "Its a foreign feeling, but Im here to support my guys." LeBron James and Co. has won five in a row; the Lakers have dropped two straight. "We need you tonight," Lakers guard Nick Young told the crowd before tipoff. Bryants injury was diagnosed last week, his second major one of the season. He didnt play his first game until Dec. 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Then he got hurt again Dec. 17 at Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights. "I was fortunate that it was not a meniscus," he said. Initially, Bryant didnt think he was seriously hurt against Memphis. He went down late in the third quarter, but returned to finish out the victory in which he logged a season-high 21 points in 32 minutes. "I didnt know it was fractured," he said. "I was expecting a bone bruise more than anything else. I thought (the doctor) was joking when he told me." Bryant has been limited to riding a bike; he isnt supposed to put any pressuure on his knee.dddddddddddd "Its just been slow in terms of laying off it and letting it heal," he said. "When you dont have activity, you got to watch the other parts like nutrition." Typical of Bryants attention to detail, he said hes been reading critical comments that suggest he wont return this season. "Its the same old tune, just being sung a little more loudly now," he said. "These type of things just help me lock in more." Asked if theres any chance he wont be back, Bryant replied, "Not that Im aware of." Los Angeles signed the 35-year-old guard to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension in November. James, along with other NBA players, tweeted out well wishes to Bryant, although the two superstars havent talked. "Especially games like today, you want to have the best guys out there," James said. After the Achilles injury, Bryant expressed rare self-doubt. He hasnt felt any this time. "The knee is not really a concern to me," he said. "The biggest question was would the Achilles respond to my game. It felt fine. It was strong." Bryant was looking forward to playing against the defending NBA champions as a way to see where he was physically with his Achilles. "This was a really big measuring stick," he said. Instead, he sat at the end of the bench wearing a black suit and print T-shirt. "My spirits are fine," he said. "I feel more locked in now than my entire career." ' ' '