The Confluence
Penguins flat-footed in 6-3 loss to Flyers
by Tony on 04/19/09 at 09:33 PM ET
Comments (0)
Sorry for the tardiness, had other stuff going on today, just finished watching the game.
It was bound to happen eventually. A Penguins team that played reactionary instead of proactively. A defense that was caught numerous times out of position. And, a goaltender that was not making the breathtaking saves.
That was the game in a nutshell.
The Flyers scored on their first two shots, and although the Penguins eventually tied the game, couldn’t match the Flyers’ offensive aggression around their net, losing 6-3 in Game Three.
There were times today that the Penguins’ defense left Marc-Andre Fleury out on his own little island. The fact that Fleury had an off night himself just compounded the Penguins’ problems.
It started early for the Flyers, as Jeff Carter made a nice move to the backhand to loft a shot past Fleury and a 1-0 lead only 2:59 into the game. That lead was doubled on the Flyers’ powerplay when Mike Richards’ wrister from the right boards was tipped somehow past Fleury to make it 2-0. I say somehow because Richards got credit for the goal, and the replays that I saw don’t show who the puck deflected off to get it past Fleury.
After the ensuing faceoff, Kimmo Timonen was fending off Sidney Crosby behind the the Flyers’ net when he is absolutely lambasted by Chris Kunitz. If that wasn’t the hit of the playoffs so far, I’d like to see one better. Anyway, that resulted in a scrap between Kunitz and Hartnell, then soon after that by Legang/Powe, and Giroux/Kennedy.
The Penguins got right back in the game very late in the first period when Evgeni Malkin fired a one-time blast off a centering feed from Ruslan Fedotenko past Marty Biron to cut the Flyers’ lead to 2-1 with only 12 seconds left in the first.
They knotted the game at two only 13 seconds into the second period when Rob Scuderi fired a simple slapper that Biron seemed to be distracted by Hartnell and the puck went into the net to make it 2-2.
The Pens’ fortunes stopped there, however, as only a few minutes later Fleury left a big rebound off a Powe slapper which was corralled by Danny Briere, who fed Giroux wide open for the easy tap-in goal to the open net to make it 3-2 Flyers.
The Flyers put a major dagger into the Pens on a Penguins’ powerplay when the defense couldn’t control the puck deep in the Pens’ end. Giroux grabbed the puck and centered it to Simon Gagne for the one-timer short-handed goal past Fleury making it 4-2. Jared Ross’ wrister tipped past Fleury to make it 5-2.
Malkin got his second goal of the night on a Pens’ powerplay to cut the lead to 5-3, but it was too little too late. Gagne finished off the scoring with an empty netter with 36 seconds remaining.
Other notes;
- Another game, another poor powerplay effort for the Pens, going 1-for-7.
- Uncharacteristically bad game for Gonchar, who along with Jordan Staal went -3.
- A bright spot: Crosby continues his strong play in the faceoff circle, going 14-for-20.
- Four giveaways awarded to Letang.
So, not a good day for the Penguins, not at all. That said, a Game Four victory Tuesday night back in Philly still puts the Flyers on the brink of elimination.
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.