The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dan Vladar got the start in net, and there were no changes to the lineup. They’d give up the first goal, but a three-goal second period helped lead them to victory. Vladar made huge saves throughout the night, and the Flyers now have a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
The Penguins got the game’s first power play just 3:21 into the first period as Sean Couturier was called for tripping. They capitalized courtesy of Evgeni Malkin. He took a pass from Bryan Rust through the blue paint and put a wrist shot just past the left skate of Vladar. 1-0 Penguins. Rust and Sidney Crosby tallied assists.
The game went to four-on-four at the 18:47 mark of the first as Garnet Hathaway got called for high-sticking and Crosby for embellishment. Nothing worth noting happened here. Both teams had a few chances in their respective zones, but the goaltenders had all the answers.
Travis Konecny and Kris Letang were both called for unsportsmanlike conduct at the 1:39 mark of the second period. This made the game go back to four-on-four. Not too long after, Erik Karlsson was called for tripping. This gave the Flyers a four-on-three man advantage and then an abbreviated power play. They had good chances on the four-on-three as Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner made saves on Porter Martone and Tyson Foerster. The Penguins were able to clear the puck down a few times as well. The Flyers got a few more shots on net on the abbreviated power play, but Skinner made the saves.
The Flyers went on their second power play at the 4:33 mark of the second, as a whole bunch of roughing penalties were handed out. (Penguins: Rust (double-minor), Samuel Girard, Connor Dewar, Karlsson, and Ryan Shea/Flyers: Travis Konecny, Cam York, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim, and Christian Dvorak) Zegras capitalized and tied the game up at one. He took a pass from Jamie Drysdale and put a slapshot over the glove of Skinner from the right circle. Drysdale and Martone picked up assists.
Nick Seeler got called for cross-checking at the 5:34 mark of the second period, which gave the Penguins their second power play. Vladar made a save on Ben Kindel, and a few shots went wide. The Flyers also did a nice job of intercepting passes and clearing the puck down to waste time.
The Flyers took a 2-1 lead at the 9:06 mark of the second thanks to Rasmus Ristolainen. He took an across-ice pass from Noah Juulsen and put a snapshot through Skinner’s legs from the right circle. Juulsen and Couturier were given assists.
Seeler gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead at the 11:18 mark of the second period. His snapshot from the blue line made its way over the glove of Skinner. Skinner was heavily screened in front. Juulsen and Couturier collected assists.
The game went to four-on-four at the 14:20 mark of the second as Malkin was called for cross-checking and Michkov for embellishment. Vladar came up with a few saves on Letang and Girard, and Skinner made a save on Foerster. It was just another case of the goaltenders having the answers.
Foerster got called for tripping at the 5:11 mark of the third period. This gave the Penguins their third power play. The Penguins missed on a few shots wide, and Crosby missed a wide-open net as the puck slid through the blue paint.
The Penguins went on their fourth man advantage at the 8:12 mark of the third as Michkov was called for roughing. Karlsson capitalized and got the Penguins within one. His slapshot from the blue line squeaked through the right arm of Vladar and into the net. Assists went to Rickard Rakell and Thomas Novak. 3-2 Flyers.
The Flyers received their third power play at the 11:12 mark of the third period as Anthony Mantha got called for delay of game (puck over glass). Noah Cates took a pass from Zegras and went backhand-forehand over the blocker of Skinner. 4-2 Flyers. Zegras and Drysdale tallied assists.
Couturier was called for hooking at the 13:28 mark of the third, which gave the Penguins their fifth power play. A few active sticks by the Flyers came in handy, and they were able to clear the puck down a few times. Vladar also came up with big saves on Crosby and Egor Chinakov.
Skinner was pulled with 3:06 remaining in the third period in favor of the extra attacker with the Penguins down by two. It backfired, however, as Owen Tippett scored an empty-netter at the 18:48 mark. He chipped the puck off the wall to himself and put a wrist shot into the empty net. Cates received the lone assist.
Flyers went two for three on the power play and killed off three of the five Penguins’ man advantages.
Vladar saved 28 of 30 shots, giving him a .933 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Malkin (2) (Power Play) Assists: Rust (1), Crosby (1)
2nd Period:
Zegras (1) (Power Play) Assists: Drysdale (1), Martone (1)
Ristolainen (1) Assists: Juulsen (1), Couturier (2)
Seeler (1) Assists: Juulsen (2), Couturier (3)
3rd Period:
Karlsson (1) (Power Play) Assists: Rakell (2), Novak (2)
Cates (1) (Power Play) Assists: Zegras (2), Drysdale (2)
Tippett (1) (Empty Net) Assists: Cates (1)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Saturday, Apr. 25, in Philadelphia against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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