Flyers Sweep Home-And-Home, Take Out Penguins, 2-1 In Overtime

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ desperation to win was palpable. At the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night, the Philadelphia Flyers were also a hungry team.

Final: Flyers 2, Penguins 1. In overtime.

The Flyers’ top-six did most of the heavy lifting, led by Tyson Foerster and Travis Konecny. The penalty kill was excellent as usual, and Philadelphia needed every blocked shot, hit, and stick lift they got. For two games in a row, the Philadelphia Flyers played that full 60 they were looking for. And beyond.

They won it as Sean Couturier converted Konecny’s two-on-one pass in overtime.

Sidney Crosby opened the scoring for the Pens after another one of those bad Flyers pinches, this coming from Travis Sanheim. Jake Guentzel flew the zone and dished the puck to Pittsburgh’s captain, who did the rest.

Ten minutes later, Tyson Foerster tied the game at 1-1, sniping one past Alex Nedeljkovic after a gorgeous line-breaking pass from Konecny. Konecny, on the other hand, had at least three breakaways in the first two periods, but came up empty-handed on each.

The Philadelphia Flyers were already tied for the league-lead in short-handed goals with six, but Konecny could’ve easily given them their seventh or eighth.

In that same vein, the Flyers’ penalty kill made the Penguins’ power play look a complete joke, and especially on the Pens’ second opportunity with the man advantage. Carter Hart didn’t face a single shot on those first two attempts, while Nedeljkovic had to stop four shots, including two breakaways.

The game was both energetic and evenly played, as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia peppered each other with shots all night. Through two periods, the teams had combined for 47 shots on goal.

The Sean Couturier line looked its usual strong self, and Morgan Frost’s line especially excelled at offensive playdriving. Owen Tippett, in particular, could have scored two or three goals in the first period alone. Bobby Brink played about as good a defensive game as I’ve seen from him in a Flyers uniform.

The third period was significantly slower, though, as the Flyers and the Pens combined for just four shots in the opening 10 minutes. The Flyers had all four. It just felt like Pittsburgh’s desperation started to show and they were gripping their sticks a little too tightly at both ends.

Overtime… again!

As they did all game, the Penguins struggled with the Flyers’ forechecking. Philadelphia had a chance to win it with a 2-on-0, but Nedeljkovic shut the door on Sanheim.

Moments later, Konecny got the point he deserved, assisting on Couturier’s one-timer and game-winner. For the second time in as many games, the Philadelphia Flyers knocked off those pesky Penguins.