PHILADELPHIA — With a shortened training camp and no exhibition games, there will be rust, no doubt, in the first few weeks of the NHL season.
The special teams didn’t get much work in camp, so they figure to be especially out of sync.
The Flyers didn’t get the memo.
Their power play, under scrutiny in the offseason because of its awful play in last year’s playoffs, scored on its first two chances Wednesday, triggering an entertaining 6-3 opening-night win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the almost-empty Wells Fargo Center.
Joel Farabee had four points, including two assists on the power play, to key the win. Nolan Patrick, who missed last year with a migraine disorder, scored his first goal since March 9, 2019, and newcomer Eric Gusfasson set up two power-play goals.
Michael Raffl converted a slick, behind-the-end-line pass from Scott Laughton with 14:23 left in regulation to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead. About 2 ½ minutes earlier, Brandon Tanev had made it 3-3 as he went top shelf and beat Carter Hart to the glove side from the left circle.
Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes scored on rebounds 20 seconds apart to increase the lead to 6-3 with under eight minutes to go.
In franchise history, the Flyers are 26-19-8 in season openers.
With 16:21 left in the second period, Hart made an ill-advised clear that was intercepted by (who else?) Sidney Crosby in front of the net, and the Flyers’ tormentor scored a power-play goal to tie the score at 2-2. It gave Crosby 106 points, including 44 goals, in 71 career games against the Flyers.
The Penguins controlled the second period, but Farabee put the Flyers ahead, 3-2, by scoring a pretty goal with 66 seconds remaining in the stanza.
Farabee, 20, got behind defenseman Mike Matheson, took a feed from Hayes near the end line, and made a clever maneuver out front and beat goalie Tristan Jarry.
A crowd of four people — one front-line workers’ family was allowed in the arena — and a national television audience viewed the Flyers’ fifth straight opening-game win.
Other than the front-line workers’ program that will permit one family to attend, fans are not allowed in the Wells Fargo for the time being because of the coronavirus.
The Flyers’ new-look second-power-play unit got goals from James van Riemsdyk (tip-in) and Patrick (deflection off his body) in the final 4:39 of the opening period to put them ahead, 2-1. Patrick, playing in his first game in 650 days, scored with 7.8 seconds left in the first.
Farabee and Gustafsson had assists on both goals. Gustafsson took point drives on the tallies.
Farabee wasn’t a full-time power-play participant last year, and Gustafsson was a free-agent signee. Jake Voracek, is now on the second unit (switching with Hayes, now on the top unit), as is Patrick, who missed all of last season.
The Flyers hope the two early power-play goals set a tone. They clicked at an anemic 7.7% (4 for 52) in last year’s postseason and went 0-for-13 in the second round against the Islanders.
Pittsburgh, which finished three points behind the second-place Flyers last season in the Metropolitan Division, built some momentum off of a couple of quality saves from goaltender Jarry early in the game. The Penguins then struck first as center Mark Jankowski collected a loose puck and roofed a point-blank shot past Hart with 14:48 left in the opening period.
