• GOAL: Empty-netter for Sid. Unassisted. Time: 17:30. Penguins, 6-3
• Three minutes. Still six-on-five.
• Philadelphia goal's empty. Don't ask me how I can tell.
• Big block/clear for Geno. Not a misprint. 4:12.
• Forwards tracking back hard. Neat to see. Five minutes left.
• First flurry -- and shot -- for the Flyers just now.
• Less than 10 minutes. The Flyers have no shots yet this period. I just checked with the official scorekeeper up here. One was removed.
• The Flyers have one shot through this period's first eight minutes. That's one very good way to avoid the obvious.
• Rakell bangs one off the bar now. Some pressure.
• Oh, my, Nieto's robbed by Kolosov on a one-timer.
• Place is holding its breath. Hilarious. That's what this has been reduced to. A 4-1 blowout becomes this.
• FACEOFF: Geno there again. Superstition. Third underway.
• Tortorella does the right thing and benches Ersson for Aleksei Kolosov.
• Players back on the ice, and Jarry returns to the starter's net. Good Lord.
• Just for fun: If you count the offside goal, there've been nine goals scored tonight on 35 shots. Clinic-worthy stuff. If you're the Belle Vernon JV coach.
• That's period. Alex Nedeljkovic needs to start the next one. The game matters.
• GOAL: Bunting again. Maybe the biggest goal of the year. Beautiful backhand whip-across from Geno to spring him semi-alone on Ersson. Other assist: Karlsson. Time: 18:48, second period. Penguins, 5-3
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Michael Bunting with 01:12 remaining in the 2nd period.
• And Sullivan's not off the hook on this. Last game before the break, archrival and a pretty significant game in the standings. Had to start the other guy. Had to.
• The Penguins are being outshot this period, 11-2, by the way. So the early pedal presence in this period sure didn't last long.
• One more time: What's more important, being able to find someone dumb enough to take this guy's contract or making the playoffs?
• GOAL: Philadelphia. Just gonna go ahead and credit Jarry on this one. Couturier's name is on the sheet, but I'm sure it'll get changed. Penguins, 4-3
• Smooth start for the Penguins. I like this. Still skating, creating and all that. No real risks taken, either.
• FACEOFF: Second period underway.
• Ersson retakes the Philadelphia crease emerging for the second period. Hm.
• I'd keep the pedal down. For one, you're going to need more goals. For another, I don't trust the Penguins in any passive stance. Just doesn't work for them.
• Hey, guys, Sid's three assists tonight tie him with the greatest player who ever lived. Both at 1,033. We're beyond blessed to have had every one of their games played in a Pittsburgh sweater.
• In fairness to Jarry ... sorry, not there. He's the one that needs to overcome the same issues again and again and again. It's not incumbent on the Penguins to do that for him. This isn't a developmental league.
• GOAL: Tomasino from right in front, again on PP2. The Flyers took their net-front lessons from the Penguins, it'd appear. Yikes. Assists: Sid. Time: 17:43. Penguins, 4-1
Power play goal for Pittsburgh!
Scored by Philip Tomasino with 02:16 remaining in the 1st period.
• The Penguins have had the better of the play, no doubt. Being down, 5-3, in shots isn't at all reflective of what's down there. Good pace. Home team emerges with juice for a change.
• Have I mentioned that Ersson isn't good?
• NO GOAL: Offside. Jarry breathes a sigh of relief that he doesn't have to give one back right away now.
• Tortorella's challenging for offside. It'll be close.
• GOAL: Rakell gets it back. Soon to be given right back. Penguins, 2-1
• GOAL: There he is. Third shot. Just a joke. Zamula, the defenseman who had one goal entering this one, beats Jarry far side. But hey, keep trying to make this guy happen. Tie, 1-1
• GOAL: Rust from a ridiculous distance atop the right circle. And to think, I was just telling José how awful Philadelphia's goaltending is. Ersson's no exception. Assists: Crosby, Rakell. Time: 1:29 first period. Penguins, 1-0
THE ASYLUM
Final: Penguins 7, Flyers 3
• Who: Penguins (15-15-5) vs. Flyers (15-15-4)
• What: NHL regular season, Game 36
• When: 7:08 p.m.
• Where: PPG Paints Arena
• Goaltenders: Tristan Jarry (7-5-2, .885 SV%) vs. Samuel Ersson (7-5-2, .881 SV%)
• TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, NBCSP+
• Radio: Penguins Radio Network
• Streaming: SNP360 (local), ESPN+
• Boxscore: NHL.com
• Media notes: Penguins | Flyers
► FOLLOW THE ACTION
• Ballgame. Headed downstairs. Behave.
• GOAL: Lizotte. Chili. Assist: Shea. Time: 19:48, third period. Penguins, 7-3
• GOAL: Empty-netter for Sid. Unassisted. Time: 17:30. Penguins, 6-3
• Three minutes. Still six-on-five.
• Philadelphia goal's empty. Don't ask me how I can tell.
• Big block/clear for Geno. Not a misprint. 4:12.
• Forwards tracking back hard. Neat to see. Five minutes left.
• First flurry -- and shot -- for the Flyers just now.
• Less than 10 minutes. The Flyers have no shots yet this period. I just checked with the official scorekeeper up here. One was removed.
• The Flyers have one shot through this period's first eight minutes. That's one very good way to avoid the obvious.
• Rakell bangs one off the bar now. Some pressure.
• Oh, my, Nieto's robbed by Kolosov on a one-timer.
• Place is holding its breath. Hilarious. That's what this has been reduced to. A 4-1 blowout becomes this.
• FACEOFF: Geno there again. Superstition. Third underway.
• Tortorella does the right thing and benches Ersson for Aleksei Kolosov.
• Players back on the ice, and Jarry returns to the starter's net. Good Lord.
• Just for fun: If you count the offside goal, there've been nine goals scored tonight on 35 shots. Clinic-worthy stuff. If you're the Belle Vernon JV coach.
• That's period. Alex Nedeljkovic needs to start the next one. The game matters.
• GOAL: Bunting again. Maybe the biggest goal of the year. Beautiful backhand whip-across from Geno to spring him semi-alone on Ersson. Other assist: Karlsson. Time: 18:48, second period. Penguins, 5-3
• And Sullivan's not off the hook on this. Last game before the break, archrival and a pretty significant game in the standings. Had to start the other guy. Had to.
• The Penguins are being outshot this period, 11-2, by the way. So the early pedal presence in this period sure didn't last long.
• One more time: What's more important, being able to find someone dumb enough to take this guy's contract or making the playoffs?
• GOAL: Philadelphia. Just gonna go ahead and credit Jarry on this one. Couturier's name is on the sheet, but I'm sure it'll get changed. Penguins, 4-3
• That's a very good save by Jarry on Laughton point-blank there. Miserable sequence by Grzelcyk allowed multiple opportunities.
• GOAL: The Flyers score on their third shot of this period, too. Goal: Cates. Assists: Brink, York. Time: 4:29, second period. Penguins, 4-2
• Smooth start for the Penguins. I like this. Still skating, creating and all that. No real risks taken, either.
• FACEOFF: Second period underway.
• Ersson retakes the Philadelphia crease emerging for the second period. Hm.
• I'd keep the pedal down. For one, you're going to need more goals. For another, I don't trust the Penguins in any passive stance. Just doesn't work for them.
• Hey, guys, Sid's three assists tonight tie him with the greatest player who ever lived. Both at 1,033. We're beyond blessed to have had every one of their games played in a Pittsburgh sweater.
• In fairness to Jarry ... sorry, not there. He's the one that needs to overcome the same issues again and again and again. It's not incumbent on the Penguins to do that for him. This isn't a developmental league.
• GOAL: Tomasino from right in front, again on PP2. The Flyers took their net-front lessons from the Penguins, it'd appear. Yikes. Assists: Sid. Time: 17:43. Penguins, 4-1
• Tomasino does well to draw the penalty, but that needed to be a shot on this guy.
• GOAL: Bunting on PP2. Assists: Geno, Sid. Tap-in. Fought for his ground right in front. Time: 16:15, first period. Penguins, 3-1
• If you count the offside goal only for purposes of evaluating the goaltending, that's four goals on the first 10 shots between these two. Imagine.
• GOAL: Rakell gets his goal back. Tic-tac-toe and then another tic tacked on. Assist: Rust, Karlsson. Time: 11:53, first period. Penguins, 2-1
• The Penguins have had the better of the play, no doubt. Being down, 5-3, in shots isn't at all reflective of what's down there. Good pace. Home team emerges with juice for a change.
• Have I mentioned that Ersson isn't good?
• NO GOAL: Offside. Jarry breathes a sigh of relief that he doesn't have to give one back right away now.
• Tortorella's challenging for offside. It'll be close.
• GOAL: Rakell gets it back. Soon to be given right back. Penguins, 2-1
• GOAL: There he is. Third shot. Just a joke. Zamula, the defenseman who had one goal entering this one, beats Jarry far side. But hey, keep trying to make this guy happen. Tie, 1-1
• GOAL: Rust from a ridiculous distance atop the right circle. And to think, I was just telling José how awful Philadelphia's goaltending is. Ersson's no exception. Assists: Crosby, Rakell. Time: 1:29 first period. Penguins, 1-0
• One dude in one upper deck, 'Let's go Flyers!' Other dude several sections away: 'Shut up!' And we're definitely underway.
• FACEOFF: Penguins vs. Flyers, Evgeni Malkin vs. Noah Cates, 7:08 p.m.
• And for John Tortorella's visitors:
Owen Tippett-Scott Laughton-Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee-Morgan Frost-Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster-Noah Cates-Bobby Brink
Olle Lycksell-Ryan Poehling-Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim-Cam York
Nick Seeler-Rasmus Ristolainen
Jamie Drysdale-Egor Zamula
• Mike Sullivan's lines and pairs:
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Cody Glass
Anthony Beauvillier-Drew O'Connor-Phil Tomasino
Matt Nieto-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
P.O Joseph-Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Ryan Shea
• Hey, everyone! Warmups underway!
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