Pittsburgh entered the night needing a win against Philadelphia, not only to gain points but also to boost confidence in their ability to catch up to the Flyers and hopefully overtake the top spot in the eastern conference. It was a must win. The Penguins pulled it off and came across as the more put together team in a well played game.
The Penguins have a solid team with a couple of great pairings. Forwards Kennedy, Staal and Kunitz make up the most productive line at the moment with points galore split between them and D men Kris Letang and Ben Lovejoy have found their own unique rhythm together. Letang has taken more of a defensive defensemen role whereas Lovejoy, with increased minutes and opportunity has been playing more of an offensive role with more shots on goal than all defensemen in this game. Pittsburgh seemed to work harder and it showed. The guys were gritty and unrelenting.
One key player in particular who stood out, especially in penalty killing was Craig Adams. He has a consistency in his play that might not be as loud as others, but it's just as valuable. He had a strong presence against the Flyers. The Pens did an awesome job at penalty killing without Matt Cooke in the lineup.
Even though the Flyers had four 60+ point leaders in their lineup and the Penguins had zero (Crosby being the only one), points were not given easily. By either team, but late in the first period, Flyers captain, Mike Richards scored the first goal of the night. It was a strange goal with the puck hitting skates and sticks as it floated above Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder. The Pens ended the first and began the second on a power play. Kennedy came through in the second period and tied the game 1-1 in that power play.
Dustin Jeffrey wound up crawling, seemingly painfully off the ice after he was crashed into by Carter. He didn't return and was said to have a lower body injury. The third period was scoreless but full of fury as both teams fought to end the game.
It was headed to overtime. Letang brought a higher level of intensity into overtime. He seemed to be in his old groove. He was like an animal, stealing the puck and racing up to the net. He took more shots than he has been lately. There were some great scoring chances throughout the game, but especially in overtime. Pittsburgh was all over the Flyers net, but to our detriment, Bobrovsky played an amazing game unlike his last one against the Capitals.
Overtime ended and the shootout began. It was scoreless in the first round. Kovalev scored in the second. Briere got one in the third round. Philadelphia missed in the fourth, but Kunitz scored and the Penguins beat the Flyers 2-1.
The Pens gained 2 points, ending the night with 94, only 2 points (one win) away from clinching their spot in the playoffs. Philadelphia gained one point, racking their total to 98 points. The gap between these two teams is getting closer and closer. There's one more match up between the Pens and Flyers on March 29th in Pittsburgh. When Jordan Staal was asked about the upcoming game he said, "Hopefully we can do the same when they come to our building."
Realistically, it too, is a must win game if the Pens still hope to topple the Flyers for the number one seed in the east.
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