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 Making his NHL debut at 33 with the Philadelphia Flyers, Zepp
turned aside 25 shots in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Winnipeg
Jets.
NHL leading scorer Jakub Voracek scored a pair of goals, including
the unassisted winner just 10 seconds into overtime, for the Flyers,
who rallied from a 3-1 deficit to begin the third period.
Zepp made a sprawling toe save off center Mark Scheifele with just
seconds left in the middle frame that seemed to spark the visitors,
who were a rather listless group for much of the first 40 minutes.
Struggling center Vincent Lecavalier also scored twice for the
Flyers (13-14-6), his third and fourth goals of the season. His
second of the game at 16:46 of the third period tied the contest.
Right winger Matt Halischuk scored his first goal of the season for
the Jets (17-10-7), while defenseman Dustin Byfuglien notched his
eighth and center Mathieu Perreault added his sixth.
Regular Philadelphia backup Ray Emery got the night off after
playing in Toronto on Saturday night. The club's No. 1 netminder,
Steve Mason, was injured during practice Friday, prompting Zepp's
promotion from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.
 Zepp, signed in July after seven seasons with the Berlin (Germany)
Polar Bears, said the triumph was a storybook finish to a whirlwind
48 hours.
"The way the guys battled in the third period was unbelievable,"
Zepp said. "I appreciate this more than anybody knows. This is 26
years trying to get here. And then to be able to get here and play,
and the game wasn't perfect, obviously, but to get the win at the
end like that is incredible."
Zepp played alongside Flyers captain Claude Giroux in Berlin during
the last NHL lockout.
This season, he earned a job with the Flyers organization and played
17 games with Lehigh Valley, posting an 8-5-4 record with a 2.70
goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
"I've been reflecting on the journey to get here since I've been
called up," he said. "There's so many different things along the way
that have to come together for this to happen. I always believed in
my ability, and I was fortunate to get an opportunity with the
Flyers. And for the guys to have a third period like they did
tonight and pull it out makes it extra special."
Zepp said the start to his debut was pretty much a blur.
"As calm as you try to be, when you wait this long and you get out
on the ice, I'm not going to lie, I didn't feel like myself in the
first 10 minutes," he said. "It was a little complicated, too,
because (the Jets) were flying out there."
 Zepp, a native of Newmarket, Ontario, made a highlight-reel stop
with just seconds left in the second period, snapping out his right
skate while sprawled spread-eagle on the ice to steal a sure goal
away from Scheifele.
Giroux said that stop sparked the club heading into the dressing
room.
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"He made some big saves and kept us in the game," the center said.
"He's worked so hard to be here. His work ethic is unbelievable.
There's no one who deserves it more than him.
"We're really happy for him, and we wanted to get that win for him."
Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec turned in a 19-save performance.
The extra period had barely started when Voracek pounced on a loose
puck that was bobbled by Byfuglien, went in on Pavelec and shot
through his pads.
"It was a good forecheck by (Giroux)," said Voracek, who leads the
league with 44 points. He also leads in assists with 30. "He put
pressure on Buff right after the faceoff, and as soon as I see it
bounce over his stick, I knew I was going to have an opportunity to
take it to the net."
The game was the second of eight straight on the road for the
Flyers, who play the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night before the
Christmas break.
The Jets, 7-1-4 in their past 12 games, head out to face the Chicago
Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said his club was particularly sloppy on
its breakout.
"You just can't keep kicking the puck into the neutral zone," he
said. "We stopped making the plays you need to make and have the
confidence to make them.
"Speed is a really important part of our game, and I think we came
off that on our front end. Our back end is as good as theirs."
NOTES: Winnipeg D Dustin Byfuglien took a stick to the face in the
late stages of Friday's 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins and
missed the final few frenzied minutes of the game. However, he was
back playing big minutes against the Flyers on Sunday, which was
good news for a club already missing four key blue-liners to injury.
... The Flyers and Jets hadn't clashed in more than a year, when
Philadelphia earned a 2-1 home-ice victory Nov. 29, 2013. ...
Trailing the Maple Leafs 2-0 just six minutes into the first period
Saturday in Toronto, the Flyers rallied to win 7-4. Toronto had been
14-0-0 this season when scoring first.
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