It took a shootout, but the Philadelphia Flyers (31-23-11) earned a big two points vs. the Minnesota Wild (38-16-12) on Thursday, getting a big 3-2 win at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

Now, for the first time in a long time, the Flyers sit just five games out of the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Matty Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov scored for the Wild. Emil Andrae and Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers.

It was a sluggish first period for both teams, before a much-improved second period for the Wild. The Flyers matched the Wild’s effort in the third period and forced overtime, which could not produce a winner. It took a shootout for the Flyers/Wild to win the game.

Here is how we got to the final score.

Read More: Flyers Game 65: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Wild

Andrae gets the Flyers on the board

On Wednesday night, the Flyers got off to a really solid start. Thursday night was not the same, nor was it anywhere close. Luckily for the Flyers, the Wild were struggling just as much as they were.

Nothing happened until the eight-minute mark, when Matvei Michkov got called for slashing against Marcus Johansen. The Flyers’ penalty kill picked up where it left off on Wednesday and killed it off.

Right after the Michkov penalty expired, Johansen went to the box for a hook, but the Flyers did not have any success either. It was a truly boring start.

Neither team looked good, but for most of the second half of the period, the Flyers were the better team. That was until the final three minutes of the period, when the Wild looked certain to score before the first break.

They did not, but the Flyers did. Emil Andrae (2), after sitting out the last three games, snuck one between the legs of Jesper Wallstedt, assisted by Trevor Zegras (32), and gave Philadelphia the 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Read More: NCAA Free Agents the Flyers Should Keep Tabs On

Minnesota pulls ahead, Philly answers late

Minnesota picked up its intensity early in the second period and started putting the pressure on the Flyers. Still, through eight minutes in the second frame, the Flyers held them scoreless.

That was until a Nick Seeler slash just over eight minutes into the second frame. It did not take long for the Wild to capitalize. Matty Boldy (37) put one past Dan Vladar from the center of the left-side circle, with assists from Mats Zuccarello (27) and Quinn Hughes (59).

The Wild evened the score at 1 and continued to apply pressure on the Flyers. Minnesota scored again, but it took nearly 10 minutes for that steady pressure to lead to another goal.

This time, it was Kirill Kaprizov (38) who worked his magic in the offensive zone, faking Vladar and giving himself more than enough net to work with. Brock Faber (29) and Hughes (60) picked up two easy assists. That gave the Wild the 2-1 lead heading into the final intermission.

Emil Andrae drew a tripping penalty against Robby Fabbri, so the Flyers started the third period on the power play, trailing by a score. The struggling Flyers’ power play still cannot buy a goal.

Making matters worse, Minnesota went right back on the power play, following a Travis Konecny interference penalty. That led to a goal, but not for the Wild.

Owen Tippett forced a turnover at the blueline, Travis Sanheim (22) and Carl Grundstrom eventually got him the puck back before Tippett released a bomb from deep in the offensive zone to tie the game at two. It was a new game in St. Paul with 12:02 to go in regulation.

65 minutes were not enough

Both teams put forward intensified efforts in the tie game. Both the Wild and Flyers were doing what it took to find the game-winner.

Vladar stepped up, making a handful of big stops for the Flyers, as did Wallstedt for the Wild. Neither team could get one past the opponent’s netminder as time was winding down.

A too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty on the Wild gave the Flyers a late power-play chance. They could not score before regulation ended, but had over a minute of a 4-on-3 power play when overtime began.

The Flyers could not score on that, but Trevor Zegras picked the pocket of Quinn Hughes and immediately drew the holding penalty against Hughes, which put Philly right back on the 4-on-3.

Even wth the second chance, Philly still could not score.

The Wild gave the Flyers a good scare late in overtime, but couldn’t score. That left the game still tied at two apiece after 65 minutes, leading to a shootout.

Mats Zucarello, Matvei Michkov, Kirill Kaprizov, Trevor Zegras, and Matty Boldy all could not get their attempts to go. Travis Konecny took a page out of the Book of Zegras and went in slow. He never sped up and caught Wallstedt off-guard before going five-hole, and picking up two very big points for Philly.

The Flyers beat the Wild 3-2 in the shootout and earned four points in the back-to-back.

What’s next

The Flyers head back home for one more game prior to a West Coast trip on Saturday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Read More: 2026 NHL Draft Rankings 1.0: As of Now, Who is in the Flyers Range?