Jan 14 2009
Flyers fall to Penguins and out of first place
All good things eventually come to an end and winning games is no exception. The Flyers, who were 12-0-2 in their last 14 home games and had not lost at home in regulation since November 8th, had everything going for them heading into the game with a Pittsburgh Penguins team that was in complete disarray. Over their last ten games, the Pens were 2-8-0 and were outscored 33-17. Those are some horrible numbers for a team that won the Eastern Conference last year and just oozes with talent. Unfortunately for Philly fans, Pittsburgh reminded everyone last night why they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. The Pens soundly defeated the Flyers 4-2 in a game that was reminiscent of the way that they mauled Philly in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Things looked good early on for the Flyers as they caught a lucky bounce that led Mike Knuble to score easily on a wide open net and put Philly up 1-0. Pittsburgh answered late in the first with a Tyler Kennedy backhander that evened the score with a little over three minutes left in the period.
In the second period, the Pens firmly seized control of the game. First, Evgeni Malkin scored less than two minutes into the period. Then, Jordan Staal lit the lamp a little more than ten minutes later to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1. Finally, in the closing moments of the second, Sidney Crosby went for a wraparound and dumped the puck in front of the crease, which allowed Matt Cooke to slip behind Kimmo Timonen and make it 4-1.
The Fly Guys got one back in the third period when Joffrey Lupul visited the red light district for the fourteenth time this season. However, despite outshooting the Penguins 14-4 over the final 20 minutes, Lupul’s tally would be the lone goal of the frame as Pittsburgh held on for a 4-2 win. The Flyers didn’t help themselves down the stretch at all by being called for three penalties. As a result, Philly was only at even-strength for 1:12 out of the final 6:30 of the game. That’s certainly no way to try to rally from a two-goal deficit.
Martin Biron was only mediocre in net, making 22 saves on 26 shots. On the other side, Marc-Andre Fleury once again performed well at the Wachovia Center, stopping 27 of the 29 shots that he faced. In ten career games in Philly, Fleury owns a 6-3-0 record with a 2.95 GAA. Not bad, especially the record.
Not only did the loss to their intrastate rival close out a three-game homestand and snap the Flyers’ amazing run at home, but coupled with a win by the New York Rangers over the New York Islanders, it also knocked Philly out of first place in the Atlantic Division. In addition, the Broad Street Bullies also fell from third to fifth in the conference standings. However, the teams ranked second through sixth are only separated by a total of four points, so the seedings are hardly set in stone.
The Flyers will look to regroup tomorrow night when they travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning in the first of back-to-back games in the Sunshine State. The teams split their first two meetings this year, both of which were in Philadelphia. There are only four teams that are worse than Tampa Bay, so hopefully the Flyers will treat their excursion to Florida like a business trip and come back with some wins. The Lightning are 4-7-7 at home, so it’s not like the Ice Palace is a difficult place to play.
Let’s Go Flyers!
