Flyers Rebound from Blowout Loss for Critical 5-1 Win vs. Penguins in Game 2

After a historically bad defeat on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers evened their playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-1 victory in Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena. 

The Flyers' 7-0 shutout loss 48 hours earlier was the franchise's worst performance in any opening game of a playoff series. It also marked their fifth straight defeat against their in-state rivals this season. 

Five different Flyers scored in the win. Shayne Gostisbehere, who didn't have a goal in the past nine games, got them on the board in the first period. Travis Konecny and Nolan Patrick opened things up with two goals in the first five minutes of the third period. 

o say the Flyers weren't happy after their Game 1 effort would be an understatement. Team captain Claude Giroux didn't mince words about what happened on Wednesday night. 

"It's one of the worst games I've been a part of," he said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Boruk. "We've got to play better and play with a little bit more attitude. We've got a day here to think about it. We're going to get out of this together, win the next game and go back home 1-1."

Philadelphia was able to accomplish that last goal thanks to things like Konecny not giving up when he found even a slight opening in the Penguins' defense:

It also helped that Brian Elliott rebounded from a disastrous showing in Game 1—allowing five goals in 29 minutes—with an outstanding performance. The 10-year veteran stopped 34 of Pittsburgh's 35 attempts, and left Sidney Crosby flummoxed after denying him a goal in the second period.

Crosby was at the center of Pittsburgh's Game 1 destruction with three goals in just 16 minutes of ice time. The Flyers only allowed him to get two shots on goal in Game 2. 

The Athletic's Jesse Marshall summed up the story of this game in one line:

Elliott has been at the center of Philadelphia's struggles against the Penguins this season. He entered Friday with a 6.42 goals-against average and .835 save percentage in three games against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions this season.

This is the first time all season Pittsburgh hasn't scored at least five goals in a game against the Flyers with Elliott as the starting goalie. 

While the Penguins were constantly the aggressor with 35 shot attempts, the Flyers were much more methodical in their approach. They only took 19 shots but were able to beat Matt Murray four times. The fifth goal came in the final minute when Pittsburgh pulled the goalie to get an extra man on the ice. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, this performance was the worst postseason game of Murray's career:

The Flyers cleared their first hurdle on the path to knocking off the Penguins. They still have a lot of work to do if they will advance beyond this series, but Friday was a terrific first step just to prove they can beat this team. 

Philadelphia knew what was at stake with this game, played like the team that needed to win and will head back to the Wells Fargo Center for Game 3 on Sunday with a chance to put the Penguins' back up against the wall by following this blueprint to success.