The Philadelphia Flyers started up a six-game homestand Monday night, and they kicked it off with their cross-state rivals in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dan Vladar got the start in net. Noah Juulsen joined the lineup on defense with Egor Zamula getting the night off. A lackluster performance led to the Penguins decimating the Flyers. They were out of sync the entire night, and Vladar wasn’t sharp. Tyson Foerster scored the only goal and left with an injury shortly after. The orange and black dropped to 14-8-3 on the season.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 6:59 mark of the first period as Blake Lizotte got called for slashing. They didn’t capitalize on the opportunity as Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry only had to make two easy saves, and the Penguins did a nice job of clearing the puck down the ice.
Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at the 9:18 mark of the first. Vladar made the initial save on Bryan Rust but allowed a rebound. Crosby collected the rebound and put a backhander over Vladar’s right pad. Rust and Anthony Mantha picked up assists.
Erik Karlsson was called for tripping at the 3:40 mark of the second period, which gave the Flyers their second power play. It became a five-on-three as Connor Clifton got called for interference at the 4:23 mark. The Flyers capitalized on the two-man advantage thanks to Foerster. Foerster’s wrist shot from the right circle went under the pad of Jarry. This tied the game up at one. Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras collected assists.
The Flyers stayed on the two-man advantage as Kris Letang was called for high-sticking on the Foerster goal. They couldn’t score any more goals as the Penguins got aggressive and were able to clear the puck a few times to waste time. This goes for the power play that followed.
Rodrigo Abols got called for holding at the 7:50 mark of the second period. This gave the Penguins their first power play. It only took 18 seconds for Crosby to score his second goal of the game. Rust, from the side of the net, found Crosby in the slot, and he put a snap shot over the glove of Vladar. The Penguins went up 2-1. Rust and Karlsson were given assists.
The Penguins got their second power play at the 15:20 mark of the second as Sean Couturier was called for holding. Evgeni Malkin fed Rust with a pass to the right circle, and he put a wrist shot over Vladar’s glove. This made the score 3-1 Penguins. Assists were given to Malkin and Karlsson.
Crosby was called for tripping at the 17:12 mark of the second period, giving the Flyers their fifth power play. The Penguins did a nice job of blocking a few shots, and Emil Andrae missed a shot wide.
With only 42 seconds remaining on the power play, Andrae got called for interference. This made the game go to four-on-four, and then the Penguins got an abbreviated power play. Karlsson ripped a shot off the post, and the Flyers did their job of clearing the puck down the ice before the second period ended.
The Flyers got their sixth power play at the 3:12 mark of the third period as Ville Koivunen was called for interference. They were able to set up in the offensive zone a few times, but only managed to get three shots on net. The Penguins made it difficult by getting into shooting lanes and blocking shots.
Matvei Michkov got called for slashing at the 12:03 mark of the third. This gave the Penguins their fourth power play. Letang, from along the boards, fed Tommy Novak with a pass to the right circle, and he put a snap shot past the glove of Vladar. Letang and Malkin received assists. Penguins went up 4-1.
Former Flyer Kevin Hayes gave the Penguins a 5-1 lead at the 15:33 mark of the third period. Parker Wotherspoon fed Hayes with a pass up the ice that sent him on a breakaway. Hayes finished with a backhander over Vladar’s glove. Wotherspoon was given the only assist.
With 10 seconds to go in the third, Mantha was called for cross-checking. This gave the Flyers their seventh power play. Jamie Drysdale got a shot on net, but the horn went off to end the game.
Flyers went one for seven on the power play and only killed off one of four Penguins man-advantages.
Vladar saved 22 of 27 shots, giving him an .815 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Crosby (17) Assists: Rust (12), Mantha (7)
2nd Period:
Foerster (10) (Power Play) Assists: Konecny (15), Zegras (16)
Crosby (18) (Power Play) Assists: Rust (13), Karlsson (15)
Rust (8) (Power Play) Assists: Malkin (19), Karlsson (16)
3rd Period:
Novak (3) (Power Play) Assists: Letang (9), Malkin (20)
Hayes (2) Assists: Wotherspoon (8)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Wednesday, Dec. 3, in Philadelphia against the Buffalo Sabres.
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