Anyone who hoped that the controversy regarding Danny Briere’s offside goal would go away probably has a headache at the moment. Don’t fault Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers fans if they’re pacing around endlessly while fans of the sport of a whole must feel delighted as Philly came back from a 3-0 deficit to bring Game 1 to a 3-3 overtime showdown.
So for those of you counting at home, that means that we’re one-for-one when it comes to postseason contests going into “extra innings.”
Pittsburgh scored all three of its goals in a rousing opening period. Briere followed up his much-disputed first tally with a second one to give him 98 points in 98 playoff games while Scott Hartnell’s clever pass opened up an opportunity for Brayden Schenn to score his first career postseason tally on the PP.
One might call this result unexpected, but considering the anticipation going into this game, it only makes sense that this intriguing fourth vs. fifth seed matchup needs more than 60 minutes to be decided.
Considering the history of overtime games in the Penguins-Flyers rivalry, it might take a lot more than 60 minutes. Enjoy it all on NBC Sports Network tonight.
(And feel free to tab the overtime winner in the comments if you’re in the mood.)