Pittsburgh Penguins Take Victory in Battle of Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Penguins walloped their cross-state rivals 6-2, hitting 100 points for just the 10th time in franchise history.

Every line made an impact as the Pittsburgh Penguins continued their hot streak. In the always-contentious Battle of Pennsylvania, the Penguins kept their cool and marched past the desperate Philadelphia Flyers 6-2.

The Penguins now have 100 points on the season while the Flyers are fighting for their postseason lives.

The Penguins had two great chances on Steve Mason before thirty seconds had even passed and that set the tone for the rest of the game. They broke through and faked out Philly’s defense with speed, sustaining pressure in the attacking zone.

On the first rush the Flyers had, though, they drew an interference penalty as Ian Cole dragged Andrew MacDonald down. The Penguins successfully killed it off with only minimal pressure on Matt Murray.

Murray, of course, is Pittsburgh’s starting goaltender while Marc-Andre Fleury is out with a concussion. Murray and Mason both played yesterday, as each are their team’s go-to guys in net down this crucial home stretch.

The Pens’ PK has been on fire lately, closing down the New York Islanders yesterday and in many games before that. The Penguins are helping out their goaltenders in front of the net and executing plays to move the puck out of the zone well.

The Penguins continued to shut down the Flyers throughout the period, especially as Wayne Simmonds went to the box and the powerplay unit headed out onto the ice. Sidney Crosby, who drew the penalty, put the puck in the net and the Pens up 1-0.

Sid is now on a six-game point streak, and has points in 18 of the last 19 games – the exception being the game they were shut out by the New Jersey Devils.

Moments later, Conor Sheary did a phenomenal job taking the puck up ice and protecting it from the Flyers defenders. He dished the puck across the crease to an open Beau Bennett, who shot it right into an empty net.

In just over a minute time span, the Penguins went up 2-0 over their cross-state rivals. That was Bennett’s first goal since his return to the lineup, and the last time he scored was in early December: actually, the last win former head coach Mike Johnston posted with the team.

The Pens finished the first period with two more goals than the Flyers and ten more shots.

As expected, the Flyers came out in the next period, well, flying. They’re struggling just to make it in the playoffs now and that desperation is tangible. On the other hand, the best way to do that is probably not to square off against the Penguins during the second period at home.

The Penguins under Mike Sullivan have absolutely dominated the second period, outscoring opponents by wide margins and outplaying them in the process. Justin Schultz continued to impress in the middle stanza today, taking every shot he could and even joining the rush several times to take point-blank shots on Mason.

The Flyers were getting frustrated, but by the usual standards of Pittsburgh-Philadelphia games it was fairly tame up to this point. Given how much the Penguins’ game falls apart when they do start to lose their cool, their composure was just another great testament to Sullivan’s coaching.

Patric Hornqvist scored his first-ever goal against the Flyers just over halfway through the second period. He snatched up the puck right in front of Mason and roofed it.

Apr 3, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) celebrates his goal with center Sidney Crosby (87) against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Crosby wasn’t screening Mason, but he was right on top of him in the crease. Recent games have seen Crosby take more of that netfront presence, a role usually monopolized by Hornqvist himself. However, this rotation of positions has benefited the Penguins greatly – Hornqvist has three goals in three games after a long drought.

Ryan White and Michael Raffl were among the Flyers who started to get a little testy after the goal. No penalties were handed out, but you could see the visitors becoming increasingly irritated.

Crosschecks and high hits were traded, as Kris Letang crosschecked a Flyer and Simmonds elbowed him in the jaw moments later. As the game progressed, it turned more into the kind of circus you would expect when these teams meet.

With under a minute left in the period, Simmonds ruined Murray’s shutout streak. Simmonds was arguably the best player for the Flyers today, or at the very least the one who made his presence most felt. The last time these teams met, he was out of the lineup.

Both defensemen, Brian Dumoulin and Ben Lovejoy, were between Simmonds and the goal, but Simmonds threw a wicked wrister over Murray’s shoulder regardless of the obstacles.

Despite that last-minute goal, Murray and his defenders have been amazing this weekend. Today especially Murray tracked the puck well as his defenders shut down rebounds in front of him.

The same can’t really be said for the players wearing orange. A ridiculous sequence early in the third period led to a Carl Hagelin goal and another three goal lead. Letang took a shot on goal; Nick Bonino commandeered the rebound and redirected it across the ice to a diving Hagelin, who launched himself at the puck to put it into a gaping net.

Jake Voracek quickly narrowed the gap again, deflecting a shot by probable Calder Trophy candidate Shayne Gostisbehere past Murray. Credit where credit’s due; Voracek did a great job freeing himself from Dumoulin’s coverage just in front of the net and getting his stick where it needed to be.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued. Eric Fehr gave the Penguins yet another three goal lead just minutes later. Matt Cullen took the puck into the zone and, under pressure, spun the puck back to Fehr in the slot, who rocketed the puck past Mason.

Every one of the Penguins’ lines scored tonight: Hornqvist and Crosby on the first, Hagelin on the second, Fehr on the third, and Bennett on the fourth. The importance of that kind of depth cannot be emphasized enough going into the playoffs.

The Flyers’ exasperation began to boil over. Simmonds, who already elbowed Letang in the jaw, shoved the blade of his stick into Murray’s neck, up under his mask. It went uncalled, despite Murray having to go to the bench and get both his neck and helmet checked.

Lovejoy quickly went after Simmonds’s usual linemate, Voracek, and a small scrum arose. The referees continued their laissez-faire style of officiating and just let it play out. As the Flyers grew increasingly rattled and the game got more and more out of control on both sides, the refs backed off.

When they did call a penalty, it was against Gostisbehere for holding Hornqvist. A powerplay opportunity is a powerplay opportunity, but out of all the offenses each team committed during this game you’d think they’d have noticed a more egregious one.

Simmonds continued to irritate, bouncing a puck in out of midair, off the net and crossbar, off Murray’s back, and in the net. However, he high-sticked it and the goal didn’t count.

Bonino went to the box for hooking Nick Cousins with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Mason was pulled almost immediately and the Flyers had a two-man advantage.

That wasn’t a problem for the home team, though. The penalty killers wrestled the puck away from the Flyers and Cullen and Fehr headed down the ice again. Cullen passed the puck to Fehr, who made no mistakes in hitting the empty net even as Gostisbehere dove to block it.