Tyler Kennedy, James Neal, and Chris Kunitz each scored and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots as the Penguins beat the Flyers 3-1 Saturday in Philadelphia.
Anyone expecting a matchup similar to the circus-like six game playoff series from April left very disappointed. Both teams had stretches of strong defensive play and both goaltenders, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ilya Bryzgalov, played well.
Fleury, in particular, had an excellent game, bouncing back from a nightmare performance in the 2012 playoffs against these same Flyers. Despite seeing little action in the opening frame, Fleury was able to remain sharp in the final two periods, stopping the Flyers 20 out of 21 times.
It was a redemption game for several Penguins, including the entire blue line who saw the Flyers score 20 goals in their first three games of last year’s playoff series. Paul Martin, who was all but run out of town after his play last season, had one of his strongest games in a Penguin uniform. He, along with a healthy Brooks Orpik, helped clear out several loose pucks in front of Fleury.
Tyler Kennedy opened the scoring 4:40 into the game, deflecting a Paul Martin shot from the point. Kennedy and Martin were part of a second power play unit that scored with only seconds remaining on the penalty to Braydon Coburn. Brandon Sutter won the offensive zone face off back to Matt Niskanen on the right point. Niskanen fed Martin for the one-timer and Kennedy deflected the shot between the hashmarks on the left face off circle.
Less than three minutes later, James Neal scored after a face off win by Evgeni Malkin. Neal, positioned on the face off circle directly behind Malkin, took the puck and whipped it past Bryzgalov’s glove hand. The goal stunned the 20,000 fans in attendance as the Penguins continued dominate play.
After being dominated for most of the first period, the Flyers pushed back in the second. They out shot the Penguins 11-8 and scored a goal to cut the deficit in half.
Scott Hartnell took the puck at center ice and dished a perfect pass to Claude Giroux who was streaking towards the net. Chris Kunitz attempted to kick the puck in hopes of breaking up the pass, but the puck found its way to Giroux who slid it under Fleury’s left pad. The Flyers out played the Penguins for most of the second period, but could not score thanks to stellar play from Fleury and eight blocked shots by the Penguins.
The Flyers had multiple chances in the final frame to tie the game. Deryk Engelland and Evgeni Malkin each took a penalty in the third period, but the Flyers couldn’t capitalize. No one had a better chance to score than Wayne Simmonds who redirected a shot from Giroux past Marc-Andre Fleury and out the other side. Jakub Voracek was robbed by the left pad of Fleury on another power play opportunity. With just over a minute to go, Giroux took a penalty for tripping and Chris Kunitz buried the Flyers with an empty net goal.
Notes
After going 12-23 on the power play against the Penguins in the playoffs, the Flyers went 0-5 with the man advantage while going 1/3 on the penalty kill.
Marc-Andre Fleury won his 227th career game, passing Tom Barrasso for the franchise lead in wins by a goaltender.
Despite this being a regular season game, both teams combined for 77 hits.
Three Stars
1 James Neal
2 Claude Giroux
3 Marc-Andre Fleury
