In what looked like a rout of a first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have cut a 3-0 deficit down to 3-2 with a 3-2 win. Game 6 will take place in Philadelphia. An incredible defensive structure stymied any offence the Penguins could generate in the first three games of this series. Pittsburgh mustered just three goals across those three games. However, in the preceding two, the Penguins have instilled a more aggressive approach, while the Flyers have seemingly taken a step back defensively. While they’re generating offence, a lot of the attention to detail that was present early in the series has been absent in games four and five.
Game One Jitters Playoff Series Penguins and Flyers
Game 1 between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia was a tight one. After the first period ended in a draw, it was defenceman Jamie Drysdale who opened the scoring with a five-hole goal on Stuart Skinner. Things were pretty even to start, however, Evgeni Malkin found a way to tie the game. The third period of game one was where it truly seemed like the Flyers had something more than the Penguins could muster. Defenceman Travis Sanheim would score to take the lead, and then rookie Porter Martone scored his first career playoff goal to make it a 3-1 lead.
Credit Image: © Jordan Teller/ISIPhotos via ZUMA Press Wire
Pittsburgh pushed back, with Bryan Rust scoring to cut the lead with just about a minute left. With about five seconds left in the game, Anthony Mantha got a fantastic chance all alone against goaltender Daniel Vladar. Vladar would stonewall Mantha in order to keep the lead and get the victory for the Flyers. He ended the game with 16 saves on 18 shots, while Stuart Skinner had 17 saves on 20 shots. Martone’s goal would end up the game winner, and the Penguins would get their first taste of a defensively stout Philadelphia team.
Game Two Is More of the Same
Going into game two, the Pittsburgh Penguins had their focus on trying to clean up their performance from game one. Instead, the Flyers would flip the script and dig in deeper. After another quiet first period, Porter Martone scored his second goal in as many career playoff games. Four minutes later, veteran Garnet Hathaway would make it 2-0 on the penalty kill to completely deflate the Penguins. While Pittsburgh would get a couple of chances in the third, none would go in. Veteran Luke Glendening would score on the empty net and put the game away at 3-0. Vladar made 27 saves on 27 shots for the shutout, while Skinner made 22 saves on 24 shots.
A Statement Game in Game Three
The Philadelphia Flyers quelled any doubt as to which team has been the better one up until Game 3 of this series with this performance. With the Penguins’ backs against the wall, they would finally break through in the first period, with Evgeni Malkin’s second goal of the series on the power play. This would be the best period the Penguins played in the series to this point. However, it wouldn’t last long as once again the second period sank Pittsburgh. Trevor Zegras scored on the power play to tie the game. Four minutes later, defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen scored his first career playoff goal to make it 2-1, and then Nick Seeler expanded the lead to 3-1.
The Penguins got a few chances in the third this time to tie the game. Erik Karlsson scored on the power play in the first half of the third to cut the lead to 3-2. This would be all the Penguins could muster, as Flyers forward Noah Cates’ goal three minutes later would be the dagger. With the Flyers winning the game 5-2, it placed the Penguins in a tough spot, down 3-0 in the series. With only four teams having ever come back from this position, it seemed as though the Penguins were dead in the water.
A Slight Bit of Hope From Game 4
Game 4 gave Pittsburgh a slight ray of hope. Down 3-0 and facing a sweep, the Penguins stormed into Philadelphia and took a 4-2 win over their rival Flyers to cut the lead to 3-1. Although Philadelphia led in shots, a change in net from Stuart Skinner to Arturs Silovs proved genius. The former AHL Calder Cup Trophy winner made 28 saves on 30 shots while the Penguins finally gave their goalie some goal support, leading to the victory.
Scoring came from all across the lineup in this game. Captain Sidney Crosby was the first to score on the power play. His goal in the first period was the only one, as the Flyers have struggled all series long in the first. They’ve yet to score in the opening frame, a trend that continued into Game Five. In the second, Rickard Rakell hounded a puck off the stick of Dan Vladar behind the net and tucked it into an empty cage. Rookie Denver Barkey would beat Silovs for his first NHL playoff goal to make it 2-1 going into the third. A slap shot from Kris Letang gave Pittsburgh some insurance, and while Travis Konecny brought it back to within one, Connor Dewar put the game away with an empty net goal.
Further Doubts for the Flyers After Game Five
Game 5 is one where doubt was truly introduced into the minds of Philadelphia. The Flyers already came into the game scratching young phenom Matvei Michkov. The highly talented young star has yet to factor into the score sheet in the entire series. In his place, rookie Alex Bump figured into the lineup and factored onto the score sheet with a goal in Game 5. With Game 6 heading back to Philadelphia with the Penguins, only down by two games, head coach Rick Tocchet will have a big decision to make as to who should sit and come back into the lineup in Game 6.
Good starts and the first period as a whole continue to factor into the series after this game. Just like the previous one, the Penguins struck first. On the play is their trade deadline acquisition Elmer Soderblom scoring from Anthony Mantha and Parker Wotherspoon. In the second, a hard-fought goal from Connor Dewar was neutralized by Alex Bump. Just a few minutes later, defenceman Travis Sanheim scored his second goal of the series to tie the game. With the pressure mounting against Pittsburgh, Kris Letang shot a puck that took an awkward bounce and went into the Flyers’ net. With this, the Penguins took a 3-2 lead into the third period. The third was a period of back-and-forth chances, with goaltenders Silovs and Vladar battling through high-risk chances. In the end, the score held still, and Pittsburgh came away from Game 5, forcing Game 6.
The Stage is Set for Game Six
Game six in Philadelphia is a pivotal one for this series. Although Pittsburgh is down 3-2, they’ve got all the momentum. The Penguins look to march into Philadelphia in Game Six and tie the series at three. Led by legendary veterans Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh is looking to become only the fifth team in NHL history to come back from 3-0 down and win the series. The last team to do this were the Los Angeles Kings in Round One of the 2014 playoffs. After doing so, the Kings went on to capture the Cup. Game six watch for the Penguins to continue in an aggressive play style, while Philadelphia will simply look to get back in the driver’s seat, which they’ve seemed to have lost over the last couple of games
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
