Philadelphia Flyers

Wrap: Flyers End Road Trip with 6-2 Win in Pittsburgh
March 26, 2017, 10:31 PM ET [283 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • NHL.com • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
WRAP: FLYERS END ROAD TRIP WITH 6-2 WIN IN PITTSBURGH

Even when the Philadelphia Flyers have played well in the second half of the season, goals have been hard to come by. That was not the case on Sunday night. On the heels of dominating much of Saturday afternoon's game in Columbus but losing 1-0, the Flyers overcame a slow start in Pittsburgh and went on to hammer the injury depleted Penguins, 6-2.

Both teams were playing for the third time in four nights and the fourth time in six. The Penguins, however, had the day off on Saturday. Early on, the Flyers lost most of the battles but then they stabilized the game as the first period progressed and they went on dominate much of the second and third periods. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period. The Flyers took a 2-1 lead in the middle frame and then pulled away as they tallied four of the five goals scored in the third period. All Flyers goals were at even strength.

Jordan Weal (5th goal, one assist), Valtteri Filppula (9th, second as a Flyer), Dale Weise (fifth, third in last seven games), Jakub Voracek (19th), Radko Gudas (empty net, 5th) and Shayne Gostisbehere (7th goal, one assist) contributed the goals. Claude Giroux notched his 40th and 41st assists of the season. Sean Couturier, who has 11 points in his last 12 games assisted on the Weise goal, along with rookie Travis Konecny.

In both games over the weekend, the Flyers received strong goaltending. On the heels of the Flyers wasting Michal Neuvirth's performance on Saturday -- courtesy of a spectacular game by Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky -- Steve Mason looked solid in stopping 25 of 27 Penguins shots.

An early turning point, with the Flyers trailing 1-0 and lacking energy, was a fight between Brandon Manning and Cameron Gaunce. Outshot by a 9-3 margin up to that point, the Flyers' play picked up and they started winning the puck battles.

For Pittsburgh, a Matt Cullen power play goal (12th) staked the team to an early lead. A pinballing initial shot squeezed through Mason's pads and was stashed in from the crease by Cullen. Patric Hörnqvist (19th goal, one assist) temporarily cut the Penguins' deficit to 4-2 in the latter stages of the third period as he got a semi-breakaway that he roofed high to the long side right under the crossbar. Losing goaltender Matt Murray stopped 26 of 31 Flyers shots.

The Flyers goals weren't necessarily pretty ones but several were the type of greasy goals that have been lacking in the second half of the season.

Weal's goal, scored from the left circle, eluded Murray's glove. The Filppula tally was scored from the doorstep, and unsuccessfully challenged by the Penguins for goaltender interferference by Filppula before he vacated the crease. Weise gave the Flyers an early third period insurance goal as Konecny steered an initial Couturier feed into the goal mouth and Weise tapped the puck home as it sat right in front of the goal line. Voracek's goal that made it 4-2 was the juicy rebound of a Giroux shot, capping off a strong shift.

After the Pens got back within 4-2, Murray was pulled for an extra attacker. The Flyers attackers in the offensive zone hustled to get onside as Gudas got to a puck in the neutral zone after former Flyers defenseman Mark Streit tried to put it up-ice. Gudas found the empty empty net to ice the win with 2:29 left. With Murray back in goal, Gostisbehere then ripped a shot with 1:02 remaining that made it a four-goal cushion.

The Flyers went 0-for-1 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Philly will take an off-day on Monday. On Tuesday, the team hosts the Ottawa Senators.

NOTES:

* Wayne Simmonds did not receive a penalty for a drive-by elbow to the head of Pittsburgh's Brian Dumoulin. The player shook it off and stayed in the game. However, the NHL's Department of Player Safety could take a look at the play.

* Earlier in the day, the Penguins presented one of their former stars, current Flyers assistant coach Joe Mullen, with a plaque made out of the roof from the old Igloo.

* With seven games left on the schedule, the Flyers have one more 4-in-6 stretch to navigate, overlapping one of their two remaining sets of back-to-back games.

* The Lehigh Valley Phantoms pulled off their third comeback win with a week, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the third period to force OT and eventually win, 4-3, in overtime. Playing the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the PPL Center in Allentown on Sunday, the Phantoms got an early goal by Corban Knight (9th). Bridgeport tied the game just 30 seconds later and went on to add two more goals in the second period. In the third, Mark Zengerle's 13th goal cut the gap to one and then Andy Miele knotted the game with a power play goal at 17:18 for his ninth goal of the season. In OT, Miele was also credited with the game winning goal with 35 seconds remaining. Anthony Stolarz stopped 29 of 32 shots to earn the win and take second-star honors.