The Penguins ended their bye week last night by welcoming the Flyers into Pittsburgh. Granted, the last thing you ever want to see after a vacation is Philadelphia, but what can you do? As anticipated, the Penguins grew slightly healthier during their 9 day break and welcomed Justin Schultz back to the lineup. Dominik Kahun remained out with a concussion so the lineup looked like this:
#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/ZP6FxKwQ0b
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 31, 2020
I completely hate the decision of playing Chad Ruhwedel on his off-wing as an RD instead of Jusso Riikola. 5 minutes into the game, Sullivan was likely also regretting the decision.
FIRST PERIOD
Sticks down, puck down, we were underway. It was nice to be back. Both teams took a bit to get their legs going and as such, we were gently eased back into hockey. After a pretty even 17 minutes Alex Galchenyuk continued his strong season by taking a tripping penalty with 2:08 left in the period. The Flyers powerplay went to work and after nearly 100 seconds of trying they broke through the Pens PK to make it 1-0.
Steady Eddie with the sneaky dish. #PHIvsPIT | #NowOrNever pic.twitter.com/6q5XltIWYP
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 1, 2020
Just ugly all around, kind of like Philadelphia. The period would end 1-0. The Penguins had 12 scoring chances for to 11 against at 5v5 in the frame.
Stats 📈 pic.twitter.com/zaEMk64MAb
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2020
SECOND PERIOD
The tale of two periods. The Penguins came out in the second period looking like the Penguins that tore up the league in January. Philadelphia was caught by surprise, and less than 4 minutes in it was Agent 101 cleaning up the garbage.
EVGENI MALKIN (16) Assisted by Hornqvist (9) & Rust (23) @ 3:55
Geno alone near the goal?
Oh yeah, we know what's happening next.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2020
The Flyers responded by taking a penalty ten seconds later, and the Penguins powerplay set up shop. After a minute of trying, the puck eventually came to Sidney Crosby. Crosby, in stride, deflected the puck from his skates to his stick before sending a tape to tape pass through more legs than the Tour de France to hit Bryan Rust.
BRYAN RUST (22) Assisted by Crosby (18) & Malkin (36) @ 5:16 PPG
Wait for it… Wait for it… GOAL! pic.twitter.com/cPTxLJIN9j
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2020
I’m honestly not worthy of talking about this play by Crosby. Sid is personally responsible for more abuse cases in Philadelphia than Bill Cosby.
Following the goal, the Penguins continued dominating until Malkin was called for a penalty at the 7-minute mark. The Pens successfully killed this one, preventing the Flyers from gaining any momentum. Six seconds after the penalty the Pens got a favorable call on a bad tripping penalty to Travis Koocoocachoo. Bad call or not, the Penguins took advantage of the opportunity with the man advantage. This time it was the big three, Malkin, to Crosby, to Letang… chronicle it down as a goal.
KRIS LETANG (11) Assisted by Crosby (19) & Malkin 37) @ 11:03 PPG
Come for the Letang power-play goal… Stay for the Crosby / Hornqvist high-five. pic.twitter.com/NahOANAlfE
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2020
Following this goal, the Penguins completely let off the gas. The Flyers took advantage of that and scored to bring the game to within one five minutes later.
Pitlick picking corners. #PHIvsPIT | #NowOrNever pic.twitter.com/v6HWK8PGRu
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 1, 2020
If this was any other goalie I would complain, but since it was a perfectly placed shot in the corner I’ll just leave it as such. Though it wasn’t without trying, the penguins did not surrender another goal in the remaining minutes of the period.
Penguins points recap →
Malkin 1G-2A
Crosby 2A
Rust 1G
Letang 1G
Hornqvist 1A pic.twitter.com/RO5CpC4qBR— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2020
THIRD PERIOD
The team apparently did not get the message in the locker room that despite scoring three goals in the second, they started getting sloppy. Instead, they came out playing the same way they ended the second, as did the Flyers. Less than three minutes in this thing was tied up.
The Sgt. #PHIvsPIT | #NowOrNever pic.twitter.com/1nMVQGSCl2
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 1, 2020
With 17:58 remaining to play, a betting man would’ve said this game was over. Somehow, with that how mostly being Tristan Jarry, the Penguins were able to escape the remaining onslaught unscathed. It was not a good period at all for Pittsburgh and showed how tough it is to regain momentum after it is lost. Everyone also says the Penguins can “flip a switch,” but that really only occurs at the beginning of periods. It is exponentially harder to flip it when the other team is constantly upping the pressure. Either way, the Pens escaped and earned a point as we went to overtime.
OVERTIME
3v3 with both Sid and Geno in the lineup? Yes, please. Malkin and Rust started, not much doing except for Bryan Rust making a hell of a play in the offensive zone to strip the Flyers of the puck. This resulted in the Penguins keeping possession and getting a change. Crosby, McCann, and Letang took over. McCann handed it to Letang, Letang cooly skates around the perimeter and handed it off to Crosby. Sidney Crosby brought down the hammer, again.
SIDNEY CROSBY (9) Assisted by Letang (22) & McCann (15) @ 0:55
THE WIZARD OF CROS STRIKES AGAIN!
Sidney Crosby's 43 goals against Philadelphia are his most against any one team. pic.twitter.com/mkANKZdZjw
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2020
ABAM
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