If the recent play of the Penguins continues, everyone better load up on antacids for the playoffs because there are going to be some loooong, stress-filled nights. As expected, the Penguins and Flyers played a tight checking game that went down to the wire.
The first period was tense and got off to a quick start as Tyler Kennedy had an early breakaway but was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky. Both teams traded chances back and forth for a few minutes and the Penguins killed off a penalty about midway through the period. The scoring finally opened up with 5 minutes to go. Mike Richards ended up scoring an odd goal on a puck that bounced off of his skate, off of his stick and up over Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder. Fleury had no clue where the puck even went until he saw it in the net.
The Penguins ended the first period on the powerplay as Andreas Nodl was called for goalie interference when he bowled over Fleury. In all honesty, Ben Lovejoy had cut him off to the net and Nodl really had no where to go despite his best efforts to stop, but we all know how iffy goalie interference can be.
The penalty call turned out to be a key in the game as the Penguins tied the game up on the powerplay. Kris Letang made a pass up to Chris Kunitz along the boards, and Kunitz sent it across the slot to Tyler Kennedy, who wristed a hard shot past Bobrovsky. The 2nd period was littered with more back and forth chances, and a powerplay for each team, but the period ended tied at 1. One thing to note from the 2nd period was that Dustin Jeffrey went down awkwardly in the corner and could not skate off the ice. As Paul Steigerwald pointed out on the broadcast, it was eerily similar to Malkin's injury, and I would not be surprised to see him out for the season.
The third period was all Penguins the whole way. Despite even being on a penalty kill early in the period, the Penguins did not allow the Flyers to get a shot on goal until about half way through the period. Max Talbot had a breakaway on that penalty kill, but Bobrovsky came up with another big save. The Pens pushed the issue until the final buzzer, but as typical with games in March, this one was going to overtime.
Overtime came and went, the Penguins played dominantly in the first half and then the Flyers came on strong in the 2nd half, but neither team could get one behind a goaltender. It was on to a shootout. The Flyers opted to shoot first as Ville Leino was stopped by Fleury and then Kris Letang was stopped by Bobrovsky. The second round saw Fleury stone Claude Giroux and then Alex Kovalev put the Pens ahead by a goal. Daniel Briere tied it up on the next shot, sliding a puck through Fleury's 5-hole, and then James Neal missed to send the shootout to extra rounds.
In the 4th round, Mike Richards sent a snapshot at Fleury's 5 hole which was stopped. Chris Kunitz then came down the ice and scored on a similar shot on Bobrovsky. PENS WIN!
3 Stars:
#3 - Kunitz
#2 - Kennedy
#1 - Bobrovsky
Thoughts/Notes:
- Bobrovsky played very well in this game and kept the Flyers in it throughout. Going towards the playoffs, I would certainly fear him more than Boucher.
- Kovalev looked a little better for the Penguins today, taking more shots and getting himself in better position to shoot. He had a couple of golden opportunities but was robbed by Bobrovsky twice from a few feet away.
- James Neal continues to look good but can't seem to find his scoring touch. He missed the net wide right a few times in this one, but appears to be an adjustment away from being a real difference maker.
- Ben Lovejoy and Kris Letang were paired up for much of the game. It frequently seemed liked Letang never left the ice. He ended up playing almost 28 minutes, 2nd to Paul Martin's close to 30 minutes. On the other end, Deryk Engelland only played 11 minutes in this game and has seen his ice time drop recently.
- Kennedy's goal was his 18th of the season as he continues to set new career highs. Where would this team be without the way he and Chris Kunitz have stepped up (especially on Staal's wings now).
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