PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – As was said a few times in the locker room after, the Pens just needed to find a way to get two points and preferably not give Philadelphia any. It wasn’t pretty. It tested the nerves of everyone playing and watching, but the Pens beat the Flyers 7-6 in regulation to move within seven of third place.
Reaction
“For me the most encouraging part was just the resilience of the group going out in the third period and having the ability to put it behind them and just being forward thinking and just competing in that third period,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “For me that’s a real encouraging aspect of tonight’s win.”
“I think we knew going into the game how big it was, especially to be tied like that in the third period,” said forward Drew O’Connor. “I think we all had that sense of urgency.”
“We didn’t end the second period the way we wanted (giving up 2 goals in 1:03), but we needed to turn the page quick and have a short memory,” said defenseman Kris Letang. “The most important thing weren’t the two periods before, but the one coming ahead of us. The guys responded well and kept pressuring it and trying to get goals.”
“We needed two points,” said captain Sidney Crosby. “It was a big two points. We knew the situation with the standings. From here on in we needed to grab points. I think getting the win last game and trying to build off that going into the road trip was really important. We know it’s a challenge in front of us, but hopefully we can build off this one.”
How it Happened
Philly got the scoring going quickly as Travis Sanheim tipped a shot from Scott Laughton just over two minutes in as the Flyers held that lead until Crosby scored midway through the first period grabbing a rebound off a shot from Rickard Rakell that Bryan Rust redirected. Rust would give the Pens a 2-1 lead scoring with 2:45 left in the first, redirecting a shot from Marcus Pettersson after Rust had battled to get the puck free from the boards.
Flyers scored 55 seconds into the second period as Tyson Foerster was left alone in front of the net and was able to push a shot between Tristan Jarry’s skate and the goalpost to make it 2-2.
Power play factored in three of the next four goals. First were the positives, Rust just leaned into one and ripped it by Cal Petersen high, stick side to make it 3-2. Then Emil Bemstrom, in his first game with the Pens, got a pass from Reilly Smith in front and got it up and over Petersen to make it 4-2. Sanheim scored on a slapper with 16:33 gone in the second, grabbing the puck off a faceoff win. Then Laughton grabbed a loose puck after a wrap around attempt by Noah Cates and buried an easy shot to tie the game after two periods.
Good board work by Evgeni Malkin and Valtteri Puustinen as Puustinen keeps the puck in to Malkin and O’Connor drills it home from a tough angle to make it 5-4 Pens 6:11 into the third period. Again, the puck kept in, Pettersson finds Crosby who sends a one-handed pass behind the Flyers net, Rakell grabs it on the goal line and beats Petersen for a 6-4 lead. Philly would score a minute-and-a-half later on a Cam York slapper to make it 6-5.
Letang would end up scoring the game-winner on a slap shot at 15:13 that floated through a couple of Flyers and into the net. That two-goal lead was cut to one with a Foerster power play goal with 2:03 to play, but the Pens held on from there.
Notes
· There was no update on forward Bryan Rust after he left with an upper-body injury in the third period and didn’t return. He is still scheduled to go on the trip to Vancouver.
· Goals in 3 straight by O’Connor
“It feels good when the puck is going in the net,” O’Connor said. “It frees up the rest of your game a bit when you are not overthinking that stuff.”
· Crosby has more goals against the Flyers than any other player, 55
“It’s a huge rivalry, it’s been that way long before I started playing here,” Crosby said mostly deflecting it from himself. “The way they play, they are gritty and physical. I thought it was a great response a few different times from us.”
Standings (as of the end of the Pens game)
Metropolitan Division
Rangers (59 games) 81 points
Hurricanes (58 games) 74 points
Flyers (59 games) 67 points
Devils (58 games) 62 points
Capitals (56 games) 61 points
Islanders (57 games) 60 points
PENS (55 games) 60 points
Wild Card
Detroit (58 games) 70 points
Tampa Bay (60 games) 69 points
New Jersey (58 games) 62 points
Washington (56 games) 61 points
Islanders (57 games) 60 points
PENS (55 games) 60 points
Buffalo (58 games) 58 points
Lines
The first two lines remained the same with Rakell with Crosby and Rust. O’Connor and Puustinen with Malkin. Bemstrom made his Pens debut. The 6’, 195-pound right-handed shot was acquired from Columbus for Alex Nylander and joined Eller and Smith on the third line. Noel Acciari centered Jansen Harkins and Jeff Carter.
Up Next
Pens start a four-game road trip at Pacific Division leading Canucks at 10p on Tuesday. They will also face 59-point Seattle and Calgary and 3rd place Edmonton.