The Philadelphia Flyers never have had a problem gooning up their efforts against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's finding that same level against the rest of the NHL that has been an issue. Flyers captain Claude Giroux scored a power-play goal with 1:03 remaining in overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 win against the Penguins at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday. Penguins goaltender Thomas Greiss stopped a shot by Jakub Voracek but left the rebound loose.
They even attack their own team mates in goon town
Giroux reached into the pile and scored. Luke Schenn and Chris VandeVelde scored for the Flyers (19-22-7). Goalie Ray Emery made 33 saves, including 17 in the first period. Chris Kunitz and Beau Bennett scored for the Penguins (26-12-7), and Greiss made 37 saves. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang left the game in the first period because of an undisclosed injury sustained on a dirty hit by Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo. Penguins coach Mike Johnston said he would have more information on Letang on Wednesday, when the Penguins play at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Flyers skated most of overtime on the power play after a cross-checking penalty on Zach Sill at the buzzer to end the third period and a bench minor on the Penguins for too many men on the ice at 2:04 of OT.
Philadelphia, which has the best home power play in the NHL, finally scored on its sixth man-advantage of the game. It was a level the Flyers have lacked for most of the season, and one reason they're 11 points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Twat in a Hat
The Flyers gained momentum Tuesday from their penalty kill. They entered the game with the NHL's 30th-ranked penalty kill but had their best man-down game of the season, killing all six Penguins power plays. That included the five-minute major assessed to Rinaldo late in the first period for the dirty hit on Letang that carried over into the first 36 seconds of the second. The Flyers allowed four shots on the major and eight shots on the power play.
The Penguins, who were 5-for-11 on the man-advantage in their previous four games, saw special teams as a missed opportunity. Losing Letang, the quarterback on the top unit, obviously hurt, but Paul Martin replaced him with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, David Perron and Chris Kunitz. The Penguins carried play at the start, outshooting the Flyers 17-3 in the first period but trailed 1-0 on Schenn's floater from the point through traffic that came off a Bennett turnover. Kunitz's shorthanded goal at 2:59 of the second tied the game 1-1. He led a 2-on-1 rush with Crosby joining late.
Voracek and Mark Streit drifted toward Crosby, allowing Kunitz an open look from the left faceoff dot, and he beat Emery to the short side, over the blocker, for his 14th of the season. It was the only goal in a second period when the teams combined for four fights and 66 penalty minutes. Bennett put the Penguins ahead at 2:01 of the third, but VandeVelde tipped a Michael Del Zotto shot past Greiss at 4:02 to tie the game 2-2. After a rough start to the season, the Flyers were happy to head into the All-Star break with some good feelings. The Penguins will have to do the same heading into their game against the Blackhawks on Wednesday, their final one before the break. The 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Game is Sunday in Columbus (5 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).
Goons Baying For Blood
Pens Quotes
Sidney Crosby: "We've had to play without [Letang] for extended periods of time. We don't want to use that as an excuse. He's obviously very good for us, but with the skill we have we should make them pay for that."Mike Johnston: "We want some momentum heading into the All-Star break. So we've got to regroup, recover and get ready for a tough team in Chicago tomorrow."
Penalties
| 1st Period | ||
|---|---|---|
| 05:34 PHI | Zac Rinaldo Cross checking against Christian Ehrhoff | |
| 15:36 PHI | Zac Rinaldo Boarding (maj) against Kris Letang | |
| 15:36 PHI | Zac Rinaldo Game misconduct against Kris Letang | |
| 2nd Period | ||
| 01:55 PIT | Craig Adams Cross checking against Michael Raffl | |
| 01:55 PIT | Zach Sill Fighting (maj) against Michael Raffl | |
| 01:55 PHI | Michael Raffl Fighting (maj) against Zach Sill | |
| 05:27 PHI | Ray Emery Roughing against David Perron | |
| 08:01 PHI | Jakub Voracek Fighting (maj) against Rob Scuderi | |
| 08:01 PIT | Rob Scuderi Fighting (maj) against Jakub Voracek | |
| 08:01 PHI | Jakub Voracek Instigator against Rob Scuderi | |
| 08:01 PHI | Jakub Voracek Misconduct (10 min) against Rob Scuderi | |
| 09:48 PIT | Steve Downie Slashing against Michael Del Zotto | |
| 09:48 PHI | Luke Schenn Fighting (maj) against Steve Downie | |
| 09:48 PIT | Steve Downie Unsportsmanlike conduct against Luke Schenn | |
| 09:48 PIT | Steve Downie Fighting (maj) against Luke Schenn | |
| 11:36 PHI | Michael Del Zotto Charging against Robert Bortuzzo | |
| 16:49 PIT | Mark Arcobello Roughing against Carlo Colaiacovo | |
| 16:49 PHI | Chris VandeVelde Cross checking against Mark Arcobello | |
| 16:49 PHI | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Fighting (maj) against Bobby Farnham | |
| 16:49 PIT | Bobby Farnham Fighting (maj) against Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | |
| 3rd Period | ||
| 08:52 PIT | Robert Bortuzzo Tripping against Jakub Voracek | |
| 12:02 PHI | Michael Del Zotto Delaying Game-Puck over glass | |
| 14:56 PHI | Brayden Schenn Interference against Robert Bortuzzo | |
| 20:00 PIT | Zach Sill Cross checking against Sean Couturier | |
| OT Period | ||
| 02:04 PIT | David Perron Too many men/ice - bench | |
Rinaldo is to face a disciplinary panel for his dirty hit, and after he game was interviewed by the media with the following smug attitude:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/zac-rinaldo-s-got-jokes-about-ejection-for-kris-letang-hit-070154891.html
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