Pens-Flyers Game 2 Recap: Penguins unlucky on Friday the 13th, lose 5-1

Pregame

With both teams getting the “first game” jitters out of their system on Wednesday, both teams went in completely opposite directions. After the 7-0 thrashing by the Penguins, the Flyers were looking to just find solid ground, and the Penguins had desires to extend their series lead.

Lineups:

1st Period

Both teams were feeling each other out through much of the first period. The Flyers brought much more physicality to the contest and made sure to finish their checks early on.

There wasn't a lot of meaningful action to report. The Penguins hit the post a few times throughout the period, but never found the back of the net.

With 1:30 left in the first frame, Zach Aston-Reese was penalized for boarding Ivan Provorov. With 36.9 seconds left, Shayne Gostisbehere capitalized on a failed clear and shot the puck past Matt Murray for a 1-0 lead.

The period would conclude with the 1-0 Philadelphia lead intact.

Stats after one:

2nd Period

47 seconds into the period, Sean Couturier was the beneficiary of the puck bouncing off Kris Letang’s body and the Flyers would extend their lead to 2-0.

Claude Giroux delivered a brutal backside hit to Kris Letang near the halfway mark of the second period. Letang would leave the ice under his own power.

With 12:28 left in the period, Travis Konecny was called for roughing Chad Ruhwedel. The penalty was killed by the Flyers after a few good Penguins chances.

Four minutes later, Patric Hornqvist and Andrew MacDonald were sent off for matching slashing minors.

Sidney Crosby was sprung on a breakaway, but was denied by Brian Elliott.

With five minutes left in the period, Travis Sanheim was penalized for hooking Derick Brassard. This power-play effort resulted in absolutely nothing for the Penguins.

With 1:37 left in the period, Wayne Simmonds was cited for roughing Evgeni Malkin. Kris Letang would return to the bench before the start of the power-play.

The Penguins ran out of time at the end of the period to halve the deficit. The Flyers would maintain their 2-0 lead through forty minutes of play.

Stats after two periods:

3rd Period

The carryover power-play time expired to resume 5v5 play.

1:29 into the third period, Travis Konecny would extend the Flyers lead to 3-0. He would not be denied by the defense or Matt Murray.

Four minutes into the period, Bryan Rust was called for slashing. Nolan Patrick would bury an easy one, catching Murray out of position. The lead was upped to 4-0.

Right after the power-play goal, Patric Hornqvist would snap the shutout. Hornqvist simply beat Brandon Manning to beat the goaltender.

With 13 minutes left in regulation, the goalscorer, Hornqvist, was called for roughing Nolan Patrick. The penalty would be killed off.

9:29 remained in regulation when Wayne Simmonds was penalized again for slashing Malkin. During the power-play, Hornqvist was cross-checked into boards by Andrew MacDonald. He was called for boarding while Hornqvist was called for embellishment.

The Penguins pulled Murray for the extra attacker with four minutes left in regulation. Hornqvist and Brandon Manning were subsequently sent off for the rest of the contest with matching misconduct penalties.

Andrew MacDonald scored the empty-netter. 5-1 Flyers.

The game would come to an end with the Flyers taking Game 2 by a score of 5-1.

Final Thoughts:

• Luck was certainly not on the Penguins’ side tonight. Missed chances were abundant.
• Let’s hope Kris Letang is ok after that scary collision with Giroux. The Penguins looked discombobulated without him on the ice.
• The Penguins’ power-play was, uh, not good tonight. The Flyers clogged up a lot of space during many of the team’s chances with the man advantage.
• Brian Elliott may have figured out how to hockey again. Either that or the luck that the Penguins lacked was given to him.
• Regroup and refocus. The Pens and Flyers will meet for Game 3 in Philadelphia on Sunday with a 3p.m. puck drop.