Flyers vs. Penguins Live Blog: Instant Reactions and Analysis

The Philadelphia Flyers held on for a big victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3. Thanks for joining us here at Bleacher Report for live updates and analysis of all the crushing hits, wicked goals and big-time saves.

It was a character win for Philadelphia. They defied the odds and bounced back from a terrible loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night.

The Flyers really clogged up the neutral zone and forced the Penguins to play a dump-and-chase game for the final two periods. Such has been the case with Pittsburgh over the last few seasons, it failed to make an adjustment to that play style.

The better team won tonight. Philadelphia made the most of its opportunities and built off the momentum of early penalty kills. 

Thanks for hanging with us at Bleacher Report tonight.

I'll be back on Thursday night as the Penguins visit the Detroit Red Wings.

Here's what I said before the game started:

Key to Victory

Special teams should play a huge role tonight. Calling the Penguins power play elite isn't doing it justice. The unit is operating at a 47.1 percent success rate, leaps and bounds ahead of any other team.

It could be a nightmare scenario for the Flyers, who sport a 70.6 percentage on the penalty kill, ranking 29th out of 30 teams.

If there is a saving grace for Philadelphia, it's the fact the Pittsburgh penalty kill isn't much better. The Penguins' PK unit hasn't allowed a score only 72.7 percent of the time, while the Flyers are fourth in the league on the power play at 29.2 percent.

I think the key to a Pittsburgh victory tonight will be rotating all four lines quickly and efficiently to wear out a Philadelphia team working on back-to-back nights. Tired Flyers will commit penalties, leading to opportunities for the Penguins on the power play. That spells big-time trouble for Philadelphia.