It’s not everyday the Penguins get one goal from their top line and win 6-4. However, with struggling goaltenders still trending in Philadelphia, maybe the offensive output from secondary players shouldn’t be so surprising.
Matt Cooke scored twice, including the first 5 on 3 shorthanded goal in Pens’ history since 1988, as the Penguins put up three goals a piece on Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky. The Penguins got key goals from their role players, and buried the Flyers with their superstars.
Cooke opened the scoring 3:17 into the game with a well placed wrist shot past Ilya Bryzgalov. The Pens drew a power play from Brayden Coburn, shortly thereafter, but failed to capitalize.
Jaromir Jagr continued to torture his former team with two beautiful goals 18 seconds apart. The Flyers got an odd man break during a 4 on 4 when Kris Letang was caught pinching. Daniel Briere fed Jagr who skated down the far side, stopped, and roofed a powerful shot off the cross bar and in the net from eight feet away. With the Flyers on the power play, Jagr received a pass from Claude Giroux and took almost the exact same shot to score his second goal of the game.
The second period became a culmination of penalties and questionable officiating. It also contained the turning point of the game. Both teams combined for seven penalties and the Flyers were left with the majority of the power play chances, but the Penguins were able to take advantage on special teams.
With Pascal Dupuis in the box serving a tripping penalty, Jordan Staal scored on a shot that appeared to handcuff Ilya Bryzgalov. As the 19,958 Flyer faithful drew silent, Brooks Orpik took a questionable hooking call to force the Penguins into a 5 on 3 shorthanded situation. However, Matt Cooke would strike again to put the Penguins on top, 3-2, and force Flyers’ coach Peter Laviolette to pull his struggling net minder.
Things did not go much better for backup Sergei Bobrovsky.
With the score tied at three coming out of the second intermission, Dustin Jeffrey jammed in a rebound to put the Penguins back in front, 4-3. Less than two minutes later, Pascal Dupuis scored on a bad angle shot that deflected off of Bobrovsky’s left skate and in the net.
James Neal added his 30th goal of the season to put the finishing touches on Pittsburgh’s first win against Philadelphia this season. The win also pulled the Penguins in a fourth place tie with the Flyers for the Eastern Conference.
Meanhile, the struggles continue for Philadelphia. After chasing the Rangers and Bruins for top spot in the Eastern Conference in the first half of the season, the Flyers have found themselves in a tailspin with the same problem they’ve had for decades. When the Flyers signed Ilya Bryzgalov to a 9 year, $51 million contract in the offseason, they thought their goaltending woes were finally over. Instead, Bryzgalov has brought more of the same and now the Flyers are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
The Penguins, on the other hand, are climbing their way through the standings after surviving a six game losing streak in January. Since the streak, the Penguins are 11-3-1 and appear to be void of any major questions outside of Sidney Crosby’s status. The Penguins have a chance to take sole possession of fourth place with a win over Buffalo tomorrow at Consol Energy Center.
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