Wrapup
My game recap will be available shortly on
Philadelphiaflyers.com.
3rd period synopsis
A juicy rebound narrowly eludes an open Sidney Crosby at the 2:00 mark to keep the game 3-1.
At the 2:14 mark, Scottie Upshall takes a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. The Flyers promptly work some shorthanded magic again, courtesy of (who else) Mike Richards.
Penguins 3 - Flyers 2: Richards intercepts a cross-ice pass up high in the zone, speeds off up the middle on a breakaway and slides a backhander past Fleury for his 23rd goal and 7th shorthander of the season. The goal was the Flyers' 16th shortie of the season and the 11th allowed by Pittsburgh this season.
Flyers 3 - Penguins 3: Shaken by the shorthanded goal, the Penguins became tentative in their own zone. The Flyers worked the puck around and Braydon Coburn launched a shot from the right point that found the net at 6:37 for his 6th goal of the season. Assists to Matthew Carle and Mike Richards.
Penguins 4 - Flyers 3: At 9:50, the Crosby line won a puck battle along the end boards and Crosby centered a pass to Fedotenko in the opposite slot. A quick snap shot later, and the Penguins had a 4-3 lead and Rusty had his second goal of the game and 11th regular-season goal against Philly. Dupuis drew the secondary assist.
Seven seconds after the goal, Dupuis went off for hooking. The Flyers were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
Flyers 4 - Penguins 4: The Flyers top line strikes. Stationed just behind the goal line, Simon Gagne passed to Mike Richards in the left circle. Richards feathered a touch pass to an open Mike Knuble, who fired his 21st goal of the season past Fleury at 14:25.
Coincidental minors at 15:11. Gonchar (roughing) and Upshall (slashing) go off after doing battle in the Pittsburgh end. Four-on-four play passed without a goal.
At 17:15, Martin Biron committed a colossal blunder that cost the Flyers at least one point.
Penguins 5 - Flyers 4: Biron gambled and lost coming way out of the net to try to cover up the puck. When the puck squirted loose, Crosby claimed it and shot toward the net. The puck eluded Carle, who was in position to block it in front and went into the net to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 lead. Dupuis got the lone assist.
When the puck came loose, Crosby claimed it and shot toward the net. The puck then eluded Carle, who was in position to block it in front and went into the net to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 lead it would not relinquish. Dupuis got the lone assist.
Shots in the third period were 9-7 in the Flyers’ favor (both teams had 27 for the game). The Flyers won 10 of 19 faceoffs (Pittsburgh won 27 of 53 overall, with Crosby winning 13 of 20 overall). The Flyers were credited with 6 hits to 5 by the Penguins (Flyers led 28-21 overall, but Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik and Matt Cooke led all skaters with five hits apiece).
2nd period synopsis
Flyers 1 - Penguins 1: Pittsburgh gains possession of the puck in their own zone. Ruslan Fedotenko carries the puck up the ice and feeds Sidney Crosby. Using the defense as a screen, Crosby fired a tracer upstairs over Biron at the 0:21 mark. The goal, Crosby’s 22nd of the season, was assisted by both Fedotenko and Evgeni Malkin.
At the 4:27 mark, Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle get turned inside out. Biron makes a good save on Malkin to keep the game tied.
Scottie Upshall gets the Flyers' first shot of the period -- a harmless side-angle shot - at the 4:57 mark.
Jeff Carter gets called for a ticky-tack cross checking penalty as he attempts to get open in front of the Penguins net at 5:44. The Pens turn it into a go-ahead goal.
Penguins 2 - Flyers 1: Flyer-killer Sergei Gonchar fires a shot from the blueline, and Evgeni Malkin deflects it in for his 27th goal at 7:14. Ryan Whitney draws the secondary assist.
At 8:49, Scott Hartnell falls down in a heap after getting hit up high with the puck as he was stationed below the circles. He goes off under his own power.
The Flyers' fourth line applies the pressure midway through the period.
Penguins 3 - Flyers 1: Ruslan Fedotenk scored his obligatory goal against the Flyers as Philly broke down covering a rush. Rusty took a cross-ice feed from Pascal Dupuis and snapped it past Biron at 12:09 for his 12th goal of the season. Crosby got the secondary assist. The goal was Fedotenko's 10th in 26 regular season games against his former club.
At 14:19, the Flyers gain a golden opportunity to climb back into the game. Malkin gets a hooking penalty along the neutral zone boards and got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on into it after the ensuing scrum. But the four-minute powerplay goes by the wayside.
Shots were 9-8 Flyers (20-18 Penguins through two periods). Faceoffs were 11-5 in the Flyers' favor (18-16 in Pittsburgh's favor after the second period, Richards was 4-for-6, Crosby was 4-for-7 but 11-for-15 overall). Hits were 8-6 Flyers (Flyers ahead 22-16 overall, Darroll Powe led with three in the period and four overall, while Matt Cooke also had four overall in the first two periods).
1st period synopsis
Scott Hartnell takes a dumb cross-checking penalty behind the play at the 1:09 mark. He knocked Sergei Gonchar down behind the net. At the 1:20 mark, Evgeni Malkin plows into Martin Biron when the goalie had the puck covered for a stoppage. The Flyers immediately jumped to their goalie's defense, and Kimmo Timonen gets a roughing penalty. Awful call to put a team down on a 5-on-3.
During the 5-on-3, Randy Jones makes a nice defensive play in front to take the puck off Jordan Staal's stick. Seconds later, at 2:27, Staal goals off for tripping.
During 4-on-3 action, Biron stops Peter Sykora from point blank range.
Scott Hartnell is stopped in close by Marc-Andre Fleury at 4:23 and keeps on battling in front.
Biron does the splits to rob Jordan Staal at about the 5:15 mark after Andrew Alberts gets caught up high and Randy Jones can't prevent the pass from going across.
Biron stops Staal from the at the 7:41 mark, erasing a defensive turnover.
Flyers 1 - Penguins 0 : The Flyers capped off an excellent shift that saw Jeff Carter generate an excellent scoring chance in front. Scott Hartnell claimed the puck in the corner and put it toward the net. At 10:17, the puck pinballed over to Joffrey Lupul, who had time to put a backhanded shot past Fleury for his 17th goal of the season.
At the 11:48 mark, Riley Cote and Eric Godard drop the gloves. The combatants wrestle for position, and Cote lands several lefts to gain the upper hand in the fight.
Hartnell knocks Maxime Talbot to the ice with a clean open-ice hit about the 12:45 mark.
A patient Mike Richards waits out the defense on a 2-on-1 rush at about the 17:00 mark, creating an open chance for himself. The Flyers captain can't quite finish it.
Andrew Alberts knocks Evgeni Malkin to the ice with a nice hit behind the net at about the 18:10 mark.
At the 19:01 mark, Simon Gagne's centering feed to Mike Richards in front creates an excellent scoring chance. Play swings the other way, and Biron makes a glove stop on Petr Sykora.
Shots were 12-9 Penguins, scoring chance were . Faceoffs were 13-5 in Pittsburgh's favor (Sidney Crosby was 7-for-8). Hits were 14 by the Flyers (Mike Richards led the way with three) to 9 by the Penguins. The Penguins had 4 giveaways to 2 by the Flyers, but were also credited with 7 takeaways.
Preview
Winners of five of their last six games, the Flyers (31-16-9) will renew hostilities today with the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins (28-25-6). Pittsburgh rarely has much success in Philadelphia but took it to the Flyers when the clubs played at the Wachovia Center on January 13. The Pens shrugged off an early 1-0 deficit and went on to win, 4-2.
Since then, Pittsburgh has continued to struggle, especially on the road. As a result, the club fired head coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Dan Bylsma. The club beat Montreal on Thursday, 5-4. If the playoffs started today, the Pens would be on the outside looking in.
While many analysts say that the Flyers can't afford to play an up-temo game against an opponent led by superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the truth of the matter is that the Flyers usually have more success against the Pens when the game is fast-paced.
During the Therrien regime, the Pens typically gained the upper hand when they played the trap and frustrated the Flyers into costly mistakes and penalties. Philly thrived when there was skating room, hitting and fewer whistles. On the flip side, once the Penguins gain puck possession in the Philly end of the ice, the Flyers often struggle to get the puck out of the zone.
Flyers players to watch: The Flyers' chances of beating the Penguins in last year's Eastern Conference Finals took a severe blow when they lost Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn to injuries. Strong play from both defensemen will be crucial to preventing Crosby and/or Malkin from taking over the game today.
When the Flyers have played the Capitals this season, John Stevens often reunites Timonen and Coburn. You may see some of that today against Pittsburgh as well. Both players have been playing excellent hockey in recent games, especially Timonen.
Penguins players to watch: All eyes are on Crosby and Malkin whenever the Penguins play, but the club features several other players with a knack for torturing the Flyers.
Defenseman Sergei Gonchar is finally back in the lineup for the Pens. That's bad news for Philly, as he makes the Penguins' attack significantly more potent, particularly on the powerplay. In 58 career games against the Flyers, Gonchar has racked up 14 goals (9 on the powerplay) and 45 points. Many of those goals have come directly off faceoffs or in situations where Gonchar moves in a couple strides and can one-time a shot from the high slot. He's also racked up a lot of assists via rebounds of his initial shot.
Ex-Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko has produced modestly against the rest of the NHL but has a knack for finding the net against Philly. Not counting the massive damage he inflicted in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, Rusty has tallied nine goals in 25 regular season games against his old club. He's coming off a two-point game against Montreal and has a goal and three points against the Flyers this year.
Lastly, Jordan Staal (six goals in 20 games against the Flyers) often seems to step up in games against Philly. With so much attention focused on Crosby and Malkin, Staal often seems to find himself in mismatches when he plays the Flyers. Even when he's slumping offensively against other clubs, Staal seems to enjoy playing the Flyers.
Flyers lineup (Subject to change)
Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Upshall - Giroux - Powe
Cote - Metropolit - Asham
Timonen - Parent
Coburn - Carle
Alberts - Jones
Biron
[Niittymaki]
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