The Pittsburgh Penguins once again picked up another big victory, defeating a Flyers team that was playing fantastic hockey to this point.
The Pittsburgh Penguins knew that last night would bring a very grueling and difficult challenge. They were facing the Flyers, a team that had not lost a game in regulation time since January 12th. So to say that the Flyers were very confident heading into last night would be underplaying the facts. And the Penguins, just as they have done all season long, found a way to get the victory.
Whenever you are facing a rival, the outcomes are always going to be at least a little bit unexpected, and that is what we had last night. For starters, Crosby put up three points, this coming after he has not been himself over the past couple of weeks. Additionally, how about the play of Matt Murray.
Murray recorded 28 saves in the second period alone, and once again showed that when he is playing at his best, it is nearly impossible to get anything past him. Murray would finish the game with a total of 50 saves. Quite a game.
One thing to keep an eye on will be to see how the NHL handles the situation with Evgeni Malkin. Malkin swung his stick at the head of a Flyers player, and subsequently ejected from the game. Hopefully for Pittsburgh he will not have to sit out any games, but it seems the ruling could go either way, especially when player safety is at play.
The Pens and Flyers have now split the two games that they have played against each other, and have two more to go before the season comes to a close. The Penguins return to the ice tomorrow to take on the Edmonton Oilers.