PHILADELPHIA _ Looking dead in the water, the Flyers revived their slim playoff hopes by rallying past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stadium Series showdown at rainy Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night.
The Flyers scored two goals with their goalie pulled for an extra attacker to tie the game at 3, then won it on Claude Giroux's goal through Matt Murray's legs with 3 minutes, 1 second left in overtime.
Jake Voracek, from an odd angle near the boards, tied it with 19.7 seconds left in regulation.
It was the Flyers' first win in four outdoor games in franchise history, and it took three goals in the last 5:03 to win it before a wet sellout crowd of 69,620.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to lead the Penguins, who played without their two top defensemen for most of the game.
With the rain intensifying in the third period and making passes and shots an adventure, Murray stopped Voracek at the doorstep to keep the Penguins ahead, 2-1, with 19:48 left in regulation.
A short time later, Brian Elliott (40 saves) robbed Phil Kessel down the other end.
But a miscue by Elliott enabled the Penguins to take a 3-1 lead with 13:31 left. Elliott got his glove on Evgeni Malkin's long shot, but the puck bounced into the air and hit the back of the goalie's right calf and caromed into the net.
The Flyers cut it to 3-2 on a six-on-four (with the goalie pulled) rebound by James van Riemsdyk with 3:04 to go.
Whether the games are inside or outside, Crosby owns the Flyers.
With a steady rain falling, Crosby scored his 44th goal in 66 career games against the Flyers to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead with 12:01 left in the opening period. Taking advantage of a Voracek turnover, Crosby went in alone and beat Elliott on a backhander.
A little over two minutes later, Sean Couturier took a feed from Oskar Lindblom and scored the equalizer on a one-timer from the left circle, putting the shot over Matt Murray's glove.
It was Couturier's 25th goal and it gave him 28 points in his last 20 games. He has collected points in 17 of those games.
The Penguins' forecheck kept the Flyers hemmed in their own zone for most of the feisty first period, during which Pittsburgh held an 18-8 shots domination.
With 3:37 to go in the first, Wayne Simmonds, who may have played his final game for the Flyers because he is on the trading block, leveled Brian Dumoulin with a hard check to his shoulder. Kris Letang went after Simmonds, and Shayne Gostisbehere knocked Letang to the ice in the ensuing melee.
Dumoulin and Letang, the Penguins' top-pairing on defense, went to the locker room with injuries and stayed there the rest of the night. Letang and Simmonds were given two-minute penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Penguins regained the lead when defenseman Justin Schultz whipped a right-circle tracer to the short side and over Elliott's glove, putting the Penguins ahead, 2-1, midway through the second period.
Crosby (who else?) set up the goal, giving him 99 points in 66 career games against the Flyers.
Heading into the third period, Claude Giroux, van Riemsdyk, and Simmonds had combined for one shot in 46 shifts.
The NHL set up rules in case inclement weather caused the game to end early, including one that said the team that was ahead after two periods would be declared the winner if play could not resume.
Before the game, interim coach Scott Gordon was asked if the outdoor rules made him approach the game differently. He talked about a scenario with the game being called and one team ahead after 40 minutes.
"To find out after the second period is over that you've lost the game or won the game is kind of a weird way to end it," he said. "Given the opportunity, and this is for either team, if it's a close game, pull your goalie and tie it up. That's kind of a unique situation, but that's the cards we're dealt, so just go out and win the game."
The Flyers faced a 2-1 deficit late in the second period, but there was no need to pull Elliott for an extra skater. It was still raining but not hard, and the game didn't seem in danger of ending because of the weather.
