The captain is back. Sidney Crosby was removed from COVID-19 protocol prior to the game and was inserted into the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game.
Sadly Mark Jankowski is back from injury, so I guess ya win some ya lose some.
The Penguins were outshot and outchanced the rest of the game after an incredible four-minute stretch right out of the gate.
Shot attempts were 53-42 for Philadelphia as well as a 2.83-2.42 expected goals advantage, per Evolving Hockey.
LINEUP
The battle of PA rages on.#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/4p1HlhMeXm
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 4, 2021
1st period
PIT Goal – Letang (5) Unassisted [2:46] 1-0 PIT
LETANGERANG! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Ay0k8TlRMA
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 5, 2021
The Penguins beat Brian Elliott just minutes into the game on a Kris Letang shot that redirected off the glove of Flyers d-man Travis Sanheim.
It looked like Evgeni Malkin might have deflected it as well, but as of the time this was written, the goal goes to Letang.
Kasperi Kapanen was banged up on the play but he remained in the game.
PIT Goal – Friedman (1) Unassisted [3:20] 2-0 PIT
Friedman's first NHL goal against his former team?
Yeah, we love to see that. pic.twitter.com/4jXOlSqXdG
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 5, 2021
YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO SEE THAT.
The xG God, Mark Friedman, picked up his first NHL goal by crashing the net like a bat out of hell and burying a gift that was batted right to him.
Give Jake Guentzel a lot of credit for making a smooth breakout pass under heavy pressure from the Flyers’ forecheck.
That celly was phenomenal.
Friedman on his first NHL goal: "Obviously it feels real good to get my first one, especially against the old guys. We've got a whole lot of game left here and maybe I can get another one."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 5, 2021
Brb ordering a Friedman jersey.
PIT Goal – McCann (4) A: Kapanen, Malkin [3:57] 3-0 PIT
McCann you believe this goal? pic.twitter.com/RefrcCP8ND
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 5, 2021
What a freaking goal. This one will end up on the end-of-year highlight package.
McCann’s goal gave the Pens a 3-0 lead.
PHI PP Goal – Couturier (6) A: Konecny, Voracek [11:32] 3-1 PIT
Coots extends an already career-high point-streak to eight games with this missile.
The Selke Trophy Winner has 6g-6a over that stretch. #AnytimeAnywhere | #PHIvsPIT pic.twitter.com/96vDMCdEVn
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 5, 2021
The Penguins went into turtle-mode and eventually conceded a shorthanded goal when Sean Couturier ripped a bomb past a screened Jarry.
The fellas in yella had a great start to the game, but were severely outshot and outchanced the rest of the period.
2nd period
PHI Goal – Giroux (2) A: Lindblom, Aube-Kubel [11:32] 3-2 PIT
now, we search for the equalizer. #AnytimeAnywhere | #PHIvsPIT pic.twitter.com/IIHtIUVIKj
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 5, 2021
Does anybody know what the Penguins d-men are doing here? I don’t.
John Marino was lost on the play. He stood still in the corner as his man stood uncontested in front of the net.
This game started to give some real bad energy.
3rd period
PHI Goal – Laughton (2) A: Giroux [13:37] 3-3
Hope you didn't turn this one off early.#AnytimeAnywhere | #PHIvsPIT pic.twitter.com/HGFRCnktqN
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 5, 2021
Jarry loves to play the puck, but sometimes it comes back to bite him. This wasn’t entirely his fault as his skaters offered him little support in getting the puck out of danger.
Everybody watching knew this goal was coming.
PHI Goal – Giroux (2) A: Aube-Kubel, Lindblom [17:52] 4-3 PHI
Four. Unanswered. Goals. #AnytimeAnywhere | #PHIvsPIT pic.twitter.com/I0L6Nc2DTJ
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 5, 2021
Marino leaving his man wide open again. He was terrible in this game and hasn’t been very good this season.
Dagger.
FINAL: 4-3 PHI
Notes
- The Penguins were great for three minutes of this game and not so great for large stretches of the rest. They deserved to lose tonight.
- I thought Jarry played a strong game up until his turnover that led to a goal, and then Marino left his guy wide open and the Flyers scored again. The stat sheet doesn’t look great but he was the least of the Penguins’ problems tonight.
- Jared McCann is a good hockey player. 60.6% shot attempt share, 57.9% expected goals share and a filthy goal on the night. He’s never going to be a stud but the idea from a certain reporter that he needs a change of scenery is foolish.
- Crosby didn’t miss a beat after a one-game absence. Him and Evgeni Malkin paced the Penguins with 4 scoring chances and 3 high danger chances each.
- Friedman scored an exhilarating goal but got tortured by the Flyers, specifically Nolan Patrick, in the process. Not only did he get slammed into the boards by Patrick, he later got hit up high by Patrick and missed the remainder of the game. He’s seen limited action so far but I’m intrigued.
Rubber match Saturday at the Paint Bucket.
Thanks for reading! Let’s talk hockey on Twitter. Follow me @shireyirving.
All data via Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick
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