PHILADELPHIA _ Early in the day, Flyers interim coach Scott Gordon said the Flyers had to treat Monday's showdown against the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins "like a playoff game."
They did, playing with a high level of desperation, swarming the net, and badly outshooting Pittsburgh.
No matter.
Despite setting a franchise record with 28 shots in a period and finishing with 51 shots, the Flyers fell to Pittsburgh at the Wells Fargo Center, 4-1, and dropped eight points behind the Penguins in the playoff race.
Kris Letang iced the verdict with an empty-net goal with 12.2 seconds left.
Matt Murray made a career-high 50 saves as the Penguins ended a four-game losing streak and handed the Flyers their first regulation defeat in 11 games (9-1-1).
Flyers rookie goalie Carter Hart was denied his ninth straight win, which would have set an NHL record for goaltenders under 21 years old. He has to settle for a share of the record: eight consecutive victories before reaching 21.
Jake Guentzel made it 3-0 with a wraparound goal with 5:14 to go.
But the Flyers made it interesting after a five-minute match penalty on Evgeni Malkin with 4:54 left.
Jake Voracek's power-play goal cut it to 3-1 with 4:31 remaining. Murray then made several key saves in the remaining minutes to end the suspense.
Murray was brilliant, but he also had some fortune on his side.
With a little over seven minutes left in the second period and the Flyers attacking the net while on a power play, Murray got his glove on Travis Konecny's blast, but immediately lost the puck and Nolan Patrick banged home the rebound to apparently get the home team within 2-1.
But a premature whistle by referee Kyle Rehman _ blown because he apparently thought Murray had the puck in his glove _ negated the goal.
The Wells Fargo Center serenaded the officials with derisive chants.
By the end of the second period, the Flyers had a 37-16 shots domination, but trailed, 2-0. They finished with a season-high 51 shots, while Pittsburgh finished with 28 shots.
The Flyers had a 28-8 shots advantage in the second period, setting a franchise record for shots in any period. Their previous high was 25 shots in a period, done in games in 1976 and again in 1988.
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead when Nick Bjugstad scored his first goal as a Penguin, ripping a left-circle shot past Hart with 12:56 left in the second period. Ivan Provorov appeared to screen Hart, and the shot may have deflected off the defenseman's stick.
Bjugstad was acquired from Florida on Feb. 1.
In the first period, Provorov was caught out of position, allowing Sidney Crosby to be left all alone and score the game's opening goal. It was Crosby's 40th in 65 career games against the Flyers.
Provorov went behind the net and was on the same side as Travis Sanheim, who tried to backhand the puck out of harm's way. But it deflected off the Penguins' Bryan Rust and went to Crosby, who was behind the goal line and to the right of the net. Crosby, with Hart leaning toward the other side, tucked it into the open net with 11:41 left in the first.
It was the only goal of the opening period _ and the first tally an opponent had scored during the five-game homestand while Sean Couturier's line was on the ice _ but the Flyers had numerous quality chances.
Oskar Lindblom was stopped by Murray on a two-on-one, and he later fired wide of an open net after a great set up by Couturier. Claude Giroux whipped a slot shot over the net on another golden chance, and Murray denied Jake Voracek on a two-on-one late in the first.
Down the other end, Hart twice robbed Guentzel on Grade A opportunities.
With the Feb. 25 trade deadline looming, the Flyers could be both sellers and buyers, general manager Chuck Fletcher has said.
Wayne Simmonds, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, will likely to be dealt because the Flyers and his agent are not making progress in negotiations _ and Fletcher doesn't want to be left empty-handed, like the Islanders with John Tavares last year.
But there are other players on the market who could intrigue Fletcher.
"I'm not worried about that right now," Giroux said when the stress of the upcoming deadline was mentioned after Monday's morning skate. "You guys can write about it. I probably won't read it."
Early in the day, Giroux said he knew Fletcher was "pretty busy up there," but that the players' only focus was on the Penguins.
They were focused, but so was Murray, who didn't resemble the goalie who took a 2.97 goals-against average into the night.
