The Flyers knew what had to be done, and they did it. But they still didn't come out on top.
That shows just how good this Pittsburgh Penguins team really is.
The Philadelphia Flyers knew that they had to be physical with the Pens in order to have a chance at stopping them. They did just that. But they still played poor defense and dropped in game two, 4-2. The Penguins doubled their lead in the series.
In a game dominated by special teams, Sidney Crosby opened the scoring at 10:48 of the first period on a Pittsburgh power play.
Mike Knuble took a careless cross-checking penalty that gave Pittsburgh a second consecutive power play, and they did not fail to capitalize on it. Martin Biron's pad left the post for a split second, and Crosby took advantage of it.
Philadelphia tied the game on a Jeff Carter snap shot on a power play of their own. Joffrey Lupul and Jaroslav Modry had assists on the goal.
Marian Hossa then capitalized on another Pittsburgh power play by backhanding a rebound past Biron to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.
Mike Richards tied it again for the Flyers by scoring on a shorthanded breakaway, going top shelf on Marc-Andre Fleury.
Maxime Talbot gave the Penguins a lead they would not relinquish at the 8:51 mark of the third period. The puck squirted out to him from behind the net, and, being alone in the slot, he slammed a slap shot past Biron to make it 3-2.
Jordan Staal added an empty netter to ice the game in the final minute.
The game was filled with scrums after the whistle, and bone-crunching hits. Derian Hatcher made many big hits on numerous occasions.
Scottie Upshall spent much of the game in the penalty box, and Fleury and Biron were constantly knocked into or knocked down because of rough play in front of the net.
In fact, Biron got a penalty for roughing by pushing Jarku Ruutu down, while Ruutu received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for embellishing the fall.
Pittsburgh took many bone-rattling hits throughout this game, and never once did they slow down. The Flyers, however, took these hits, then started playing tentatively at times.
Derian Hatcher also seemed to have trouble skating, as he lost two icing races in his own zone, and often seemed to give up on the play when a faster skater (everyone) was going by him.
He did log over 28 minutes of playing time, and contributed many huge hits. However, he was a minus-two for the night, and was not on the ice for any Flyers' goals.
The special teams were the breaker in the game, as the Flyers were 1 for 3, and the Penguins were 2 for 5, for percentages of 33.3 and 40, respectively. On the three penalty kills that the Penguins had, they looked great, outskating the Flyers and forcing them to make quick plays, which the Flyers were not able to do.
On the other end, the Flyers gave the Penguins too much time, which almost always results in a goal for the opposing team on a man advantage.
The Flyers go home now for games three and four, and hope to prevent the Penguins from taking a 3-1 series lead, or sweeping the Flyers in four games.
Game three is Tuesday night at 7:30 on Versus.
Comments (2) Add a comment »
from 4 days ago
for Biron's penalty for roughing, I actually did not get how come Ruutu got a penalty ... he was clearly pushed and even asked Biron afterwards what was that for (that was not his right words but still).
anyway ... can't wait for game three, we'll see what the orange crush will be able to do
from 3 days ago
hey, a tip for writing articles: actually watch the game before you criticize wrong.
the pens out played the flyers hands down.
malkin and whitney were just flyers for the night.
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