Penguins Beat Flyers In The Opening Of The Keystone State Clash

There was a great deal of hype coming into this series, and there was every reason for it. Everyone on both sides on The Battle of Pennsylvania couldn’t wait until Friday arrived to see what would happen in the first game. However, there was much to be desired after this game was over.

There was obvious rust on both teams, with both having almost a week off since wrapping up the previous round. Both teams looked sluggish and neither looked like the ones that soundly beat their opponents in the previous round. It was a game of mistakes, you just hoped your team didn’t screw up too bad.

Pittsburgh’s Petr Sykora got things started just 6 minutes into the game by putting the puck behind Martin Biron. Biron was spectacular through the first two rounds, and was one of the main reasons the Flyers have gotten into the Eastern Conference Finals. However, in this game he looked a bit shaky and at times appeared to be doing too much which opened up chances for the Penguins.

The Penguins wouldn’t hold the lead for long. Just over two minutes later, Mike Richards would quickly wrap around the net and put the puck behind Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. The referee originally waived off the goal, but further review quickly proved it was a goal and overturned the original call. Richards would also get the next goal as Joffrey Lupul and RJ Umberger were banging away at the puck in front of the net. The puck popped out to Richards who buried it.

Pittsburgh’s duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin made sure that the Flyers did not keep the lead they built. Crosby would score next and Malkin added a goal at the very end of the period as the Flyers began to slump.

In the second period, while the Flyers had a power play, Malkin was run over in the Flyers zone. While everyone skated up ice, Malkin hung back, and when the Flyers lost the puck, he received a pass and had a breakaway on Biron. Malkin blasted a slapshot past Biron from 15 feet away from the goal. That would be it for the scoring and the game wasn’t even half over yet.

The Flyers finally decided to play in the last 8 minutes of the game, but by then it was too late. They were unable to capitalize on any chances, and the Penguins secured their 6th home victory in 6 home games this postseason.

This, by far, was one of the worst games the Flyers have played in this year’s playoffs. The week off definitely took some of the wind out of them. This is the third playoff series in a row that the Flyers lost the first game. RJ Umberger, who had 6 goals against the Penguins in the regular season, had 2 assists in the game.

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