The Pittsburgh Penguins are letting the fourth seed slip away in the final games of the season. If they have to play the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, it may not be a bad thing.
The Flyers overcame a two goal deficit to defeat the Penguins 6-4, Sunday afternoon. The Penguins got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, but the Flyers cut the lead in half before the first intermission, then scored three straight goals to turn the grudge match into a laugher.
Joe Vitale’s hit on Daniel Briere in the final minutes of the game sparked a brawl between the two teams with both coaches yelling at one another from their respective benches.
The Penguins got out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Steve Sullivan and James Neal in the first period. Sidney Crosby fed the puck to Steve Sullivan who flubbed on the one-timer. The puck knuckled and dropped behind Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Penguins the early lead. Three minutes later, James Neal scored his 39th goal, finishing a nice backhand pass from Evgeni Malkin.
Pittsburgh got a power play opportunity shortly after Neal’s goal but failed to capitalize.
From there, the Philadelphia Flyers took over. Claude Giroux’s shot squeaked past Marc-Andre Fleury to cut the lead in half with five minutes remaining in the first. Former Penguin, Max Talbot, scored 1:25 into the second period, redirecting a shot in mid-air by Zac Rinaldo. The Flyers continued to dominate the second period, showing why they were 4-0 at Consol Energy Center.
In the third, Wayne Simmonds cashed in his 27th goal, slamming the puck past Fleury on the power play. The Penguins started the third period on the power play but an interference call on Chris Kunitz cancelled out Pittsburgh’s man advantage. Four minutes later, Jakub Voracek took a pass from Eric Wellwood at the attacking blue line, blew past Matt Niskanen, and backhanded a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Flyers not only took control of the game, they also enjoyed some of the friendly bounces that come with being undefeated at an opponent’s arena. Marc-Andre Bourdon’s shot from the point bounced off Zbynek Michalek, off the post and in the net to extend Philadelphia’s lead to three. James Neal had a chance to add his 40th goal off the face-off, but the puck hit the crossbar, keeping the deficit at three.
With just under five minutes remaining, Steve Sullivan scored his second goal of the game to bring the Penguins within two. Referees initially signaled no-goal after the puck appeared to hit the post and come out. However, the call was overturned after video review showed the puck deflected off the back bar. The goal, however, was not the play that started the brawl.
Sidney Crosby was cross-checked in the back by Brayden Schenn after Sullivan’s goal was initially waved off. Since the call was overturned, the penalty to Schenn was absolved but Pittsburgh’s frustration was not.
Following an empty net goal by Voracek, Joe Vitale laid a clean shoulder check into the chest of Daniel Briere and the Flyers took exception. In a matter of seconds, gloves and sticks littered the ice as Deryk Engelland and Wayne Simmonds squared off. Meanwhile, Pens’ assistant coach, Tony Granato, and Peter Laviolette were engaged in a shouting match while standing at the top of their benches.
The Penguins got a power play goal from Chris Kunitz but the Flyers walked away from the game with two vital points to pull within one of Pittsburgh for the fourth seed and home ice. With the season finale taking place between these two teams next Saturday, home ice advantage for the playoffs could come down to the last day of the regular season. Two weeks ago, the Penguins were looking like a better fit for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. However, back to back losses by the lowly Islanders and another loss to the Flyers now has Pittsburgh fighting for an extra game at Consol in the playoffs.
- Pittsburgh has lost 3 of their last 4.
- The Flyers are now 5-0-0 in Consol Energy Center.
- Marc-Andre Fleury is still one victory shy of tying Tom Barrasso’s franchise record (226).
- Pascal Dupuis has a 14 game point streak.
Three Stars
- Jakub Voracek
- Claude Giroux
- Steve Sullivan
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! sports
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