The Confluence
Biron stellar as Flyers cool down Penguins, 3-1
by Tony on 03/22/09 at 03:36 PM ET
Comments (0)
For the first time in a long time, it became apparent as the Flyers/Penguins game went along that this was going to be one of those games that was just not going to be in the cards for the Pens.
Flyers’ goalie Marty Biron made numerous key saves, and the Flyers took advantage of eight Penguins’ penalties with two powerplay goals in their 3-1 win over the Pens at the Igloo.
It is only the second regulation loss for the Penguins under IHCDB, and give the Flyers credit, they played a solid road game to get the win.
The Flyers held Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin not only off the scoreboard, but off the shot chart as well. Some of that must be contributed to the three giveaways that both Crosby and Malkin had, most of which occured in the Flyers’ zone. The Penguins had 11 giveaways total, as compared to only one by the Flyers.
However, while the Flyers shut those two out, the Penguins only allowed 20 shots themselves, 10 of which came in the final 20 minutes.
After a Bill Guerin holding penalty, the Flyers scored off the initial faceoff. Claude Giroux fired a slapper from the right point that was deflected to Mike Knuble, who threw the puck on net. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped the initial shot, but Simon Gagne fired the rebound through the five hole of Fleury to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead about five minutes into the game.
They doubled their lead back on the powerplay early in the second period when Danny Briere brought the puck along the right boards in the Pens’ zone and fed the puck to Jeff Carter. Carter quickly passed it towards Scott Hartnell, off whose foot the puck deflected and into the net. Officials properly ruled that there was no kicking motion, and that made it 2-0 Flyers.
The Penguins’ powerplay had been having problems for most of the game, but were finally able to convert to cut the Flyers’ lead in half midway through the third period. Sidney Crosby was able to gain possession of the puck along the boards and fire a centering feed to Kris Letang, who one-timed it off the right pad of Biron and into the net to make it 2-1 at the 10:02 mark.
That was the closest the Penguins would come, as the Flyers scored on an empty netter by Darroll Powe at 19:32 for the final score of 3-1.
Other notes:
- Sergei Gonchar took an uncharacteristic double roughing minor at the end of the second period. The Pens, however, killed all four minutes.
- Five blocked shots for Mark Eaton.
- Four hits for Chris Kunitz.
- Gonchar led in icetime with 27:28.
The Penguins are now off until Wednesday, when they will continue their homestand against the Calgary Flames.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Turn Out The Lights, The Party’s Over: I’m Stepping Down
Bill Cowher’s Daughter to Marry Kevin Westgarth
Penguins Sign Forward Steve MacIntyre
Penguins Re-Sign Forward Dustin Jeffrey to Two-Year Deal
Crosby Donation Leads To Renovation at Children’s Hospital
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.