Penguins decimate Flyers in battle of Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Flyers played the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night in their last game before the holiday break. They were outhustled and outplayed all night, losing 7-3. The Flyers now have a record of 15-16-4 on the season.

Bryan Rust gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at the 1:29 mark of the first period. His slap shot went past the glove of Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson. Sidney Crosby set him up with a nice pass. Crosby and Rickard Rakell collected assists.

Egor Zamula tied the game up at one for the Flyers at the 6:12 mark of the first period as his wrist shot went over the glove of Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry. Ryan Poehing set him up with a great pass to the right circle. Poehling and Scott Laughton tallied assists.

The Penguins took a 2-1 lead at the 11:53 mark of the first period as Rakell's wrist shot went past Ersson's glove. A nice pass by Rust set him up for the shot. Rust and Erik Karlsson were given assists.

The Penguins got the game's first power play as Cam York got called for holding at the 14:53 mark of the first period. They capitalized on the opportunity as Michael Bunting tipped in Evgeni Malkin's pass in front. This gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead. Malkin and Crosby collected assists.

York got called for holding again at the 16:43 mark of the first period which gave the Penguins their second power play. They'd capitalize again as Phillip Tomasino tipped in Crosby's pass in front past Ersson. The score is now 4-1 Penguins. Crosby and Rakell received assists.

Noah Cates got the Flyers within two at the 4:29 mark of the second period as his wrist shot went past the blocker of Jarry. A great pass by Bobby Brink set him up. The score would change to 4-2 Penguins. Brink and York were given assists. That's now four straight games with a goal for Cates.

Sean Couturier got the Flyers within one at the 13:06 mark of the second period. He drove the net and the puck slipped through the legs of Jarry. It's now 4-3 Penguins. Konecny and Laughton tallied assists. That was for his newborn baby.

Bunting gave the Penguins their two-goal lead back at the 18:48 mark of the second period. His slap shot went past the blocker of Ersson. Malkin set him up with a nice pass in front. This made the score 5-3 Penguins. Malkin and Karlsson collected the assists.

Ersson was pulled to begin the third period. Aleksei Kolosov took over in net.

The Flyers pulled Kolosov in favor of an extra attacker and it went to six of five. Crosby took advantage and tallied his fourth point of the game with an empty-net goal. Jamie Drysdale lost the puck at the blue line and sent Crosby in on net alone. This gave the Penguins a 6-3 lead. No assists were given.

Matvei Michkov got called for hooking at the 19:42 mark of the third period to give the Penguins their third power play of the game. It was another faceoff loss that bit the Flyers. The puck took a lucky bounce off the boards and sat in the blue paint. Blake Lizotte then put it in the net. Ryan Shea and Matt Nieto were given assists.

The Penguins would win by a final score of 7-3.

The Flyers didn't get any power plays and went 0 for 3 on the penalty kill.

Ersson struggled in the first two periods. He saved nine of 14 shots, giving him a .643 save percentage. Kolosov, in replacement, saved six of seven shots, giving him a .857 save percentage.

Goal Summary

1st Period:

Rust (15) Assists: Crosby (27), Rakell (12)

Zamula (2) Assists: Poehling (9), Laughton (10)

Rakell (16) Assists: Rust (12), Karlsson (20)

Bunting (8) (Power Play) Assists: Malkin (21), Crosby (28)

Tomasino (4) (Power Play) Assists: Crosby (29), Rakell (13)

2nd Period:

Cates (6) Assists: Brink (11), York (4)

Couturier (7) Assists: Konecny (25), Laughton (11)

Bunting (9) Assists: Malkin (22), Karlsson (21)

3rd Period:

Crosby (10) (Empty Net) Assists: none

Lizotte (8) (Power Play) Assists: Shea (2), Nieto (1)

Flyers Next Game

The Flyers next game is Saturday, Dec. 28, against the Ducks in Anaheim.