The Pittsburgh Penguins put the Philadelphia Flyers’ six-game point streak to bed with a 4-1 win over their state rivals on Saturday afternoon.
The Flyers got forward Jakub Voracek back in the lineup, but it wasn’t enough to spark them. Despite getting the game’s opening goal from Radko Gudas, Philadelphia was the second best team on the ice throughout the game.
Philadelphia didn’t hold onto the lead for very long. Just 1:01 after Gudas found the back of the net, Trevor Daley tied the game on a sweet no-look feed from Nick Bonino.
A beautiful pass from Bonino set up that Daley tally. Take a closer look: https://t.co/6PxakIVVTv pic.twitter.com/TRDgTggWcN
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 19, 2016
The Penguins then got two more second period goals from Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz before Kris Letang added the empty netter in the third period.
Michal Neuvirth was expected to get the start in goal for the Flyers, but it was Steve Mason who led the team onto the ice for the pregame warm up. During the game, Flyers GM Ron Hextall addressed the issue.
Per #Flyers GM Ron Hextall: Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth 'wasn't feeling right' and that is why he is not playing. #PITvsPHI
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 19, 2016
It’s hard to pin this loss on Mason. The 27-year-old made several key stops throughout the afternoon including a huge save on Carl Hagelin’s shorthanded breakaway to keep the score tied at zero late in the first period.
The Flyers were outshot 27-9 through two periods and they didn’t generate very many scoring chances.
Philadelphia is still one point behind Detroit for the final playoff spot in the East. The Flyers will have to hope for a Panthers win over the Red Wings later tonight.
The win extends Pittsburgh’s winning streak to five games, and moves them out of a Wild Card spot and into third place in the Metropolitan division (ahead of the Islanders).