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On Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers were on the precipice of something they hadn’t done since 1995: sweep a Stanley Cup playoff series.
However, the Pittsburgh Penguins had other plans as they avoided elimination with a 4-2 victory at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. As a result, the series heads to Pittsburgh on Monday for Game 5.
The Penguins were able to survive thanks to strong performances by Sidney Crosby (1G, 1A), Rickard Rackell (1G, 1A) and goalie Arturs Silovs (28 saves). Philadelphia got goals from Denver Barkey and Travis Konecny.
Penguins’ Urgency Wins The Day
In the first period, the Penguins showed their urgency and they were able to get some early zone entries past the Flyers neutral zone defense. For the most part, the Flyers were able to keep pace.
However, Pittsburgh got on the board first. Following a Denver Barkey high sticking penalty on Sam Girard in the offensive zone, the Penguins got their first power-play of the game. And it took them only five seconds to cash in as Sidney Crosby won the draw and got the puck to Erik Karlsson. The defenseman softly pushed the puck up to the Penguins captain, who rifled a shot that ticked off goalie Dan Vladar’s glove and in.
Early in the second period, the Penguins would get a two goal lead only 1:03 in. A puck-handling mistake by Vladar behind his net led to him losing the puck to Rickard Rackell, who easily tucked it into the net.
In the latter stages of the second period, the Flyers would cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-1. As the Flyers got an extended offensive zone opportunity, defenseman Cam York would find Trevor Zegras at the left circle. The Flyers center cut in and fired a shot that Barkey was able to tick past goalie Arturs Silovs.
It was Barkey’s first playoff goal, making him the 11th different Flyer to score in the series.
Late Pressure Not Enough
While it seemed the Flyers had the momentum going into the third period, a pair of matching minors to Garnet Hathaway and Karlsson led to a four on four situation.
Following a board battle, Crosby was able to find Kris Letang on a kicked pass. Crosby made a successful screen on defenseman Jamie Drysdale, while Letang uncorked a shot that beat Vladar to make it 3-1 Penguins.
Philadelphia picked up their pressure after that goal and were able to cut the Penguins lead to one goal. Following a pinch by Sanheim, Christian Dvorak was able to feed winger Travis Konency for a one-timer that beat Silovs.
However, the Flyers were unable to get the tying goal and pulled Vladar with 1:52 left. After some initial chances, Penguins wing Connor Dewar was able to escape the zone and tuck the puck into the open net.
The Good
- Another good game from Trevor Zegras. After a nondescript Game Two, the Flyer center has been a factor in the last two games at home. The only blemish on his game was an offensive zone turnover that led to a Penguins rush and Crosby scoring chance.
- The Flyers got a lot of transitional opportunities including as many as five odd man rushes. Had Arturs Silovs been anything less than solid to very good in this one, the series might’ve been closed out. But it is a good sign that if the Flyers finish on one or two of them, the story of the game might’ve been different.
- It was a bit of a roller coaster game for Barkey, but more good than bad. He took a high sticking penalty in the first period that led to Crosby’s power-play goal. But he was relentless in his efforts in the second and third period, scoring his first playoff goal.
- In addition to his assist on Konency’s goal, Christian Dvorak made a game saving skate save as the Flyers were reeling after the Rackell goal. He has been rock solid for four games.
- For the second straight game, Cam York had a strong effort defensively. He broke up a dangerous two on one chance in the third period. He also triggered the offensive zone play that led to Barkey’s goal.
The Bad
- Konency finally getting on the scoring sheet after three games was good. But he hasn’t been a big scorer in the playoffs in his career as that was his second goal in 26 career playoff games. He also lost a key puck battle along the boards that led to Kris Letang’s goal that put the Penguins up 3-1. It’s not that he lost the battle, he was slow along the wall.
- Tyson Foerster has been good on the walls and responsible defensively, but he’s not getting a high volume of scoring chances. He was shifted off of the Zegras line and onto the Cates unit. It’s very possible that he’ll stay there in Game 5.
- After playing three games for the injured Emil Andrae, I would expect that Noah Juulsen will probably sit for Game 5. He finished with less than nine minutes of ice-time and two giveaways. The Flyers need to be able to exit the zone consistently and Andrae provides that capability.
The Ugly
- Vladar’s behind the net turnover put the Flyers behind the proverbial eight ball, spotting the visitors a two goal lead. It was basically the game and put the Flyers into pursuit mode for the remainder of the game.
- Matvei Michkov has been invisible for the Flyers in all four games this series. The biggest issue is he continues to try to make plays from a stand-still position instead of moving his feet. He’s been indecisive with the puck in all zones and has been a defensive liability at times. Tocchet hinted at potential line-up adjustments for Monday, so don’t be surprised if #39 sits for a game. You might see either Alex Bump or Carl Grundstrom draws in for him for depending on Tocchet wants to deploy his lines.
- After a two for three night on Wednesday, the Flyers power-play once again looked like the league’s worst, going 0 for 3. While the final power-play had some decent movement, the first two were pretty rough with only Glendening’s backhand shot a real threat.
- As good as Cam York was in Game 4, his third period turnover into the slot where Egor Chinakov was waiting for a one-timer was a whopper.
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