PHILADELPHIA — The Penguins escaped Wells Fargo Center with a win Tuesday and have to be thrilled that they aren’t coming back to this place for a while.
The Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated from playoff contention last week but had no problem getting up for another showdown with their Keystone State rivals. In a snarling end to the season series, the Penguins took home a 7-3 win.
That was Pittsburgh’s first win in four games in Philadelphia this season.
The Penguins stared down yet another injury scare when top-line winger Bryan Rust spent most of the second period in the dressing room following a suspicious trip from Flyers pest Travis Konecny. But Rust returned for the third.
And of course it was Sidney Crosby who answered the bell, mixing it up with Konecny and scoring twice. It was the captain’s first multi-goal game of 2021.
The win put the Penguins back in sole possession of first place in the East Division. But the Washington Capitals, two points behind them, have played two fewer games and have the tiebreaker. So the Penguins can only control so much.
They went 3-1-0 on this trip, which started with two wins in Washington.
The Penguins got shelled by the Flyers, 7-2, here one night earlier. They allowed 45 shots, including 19 from the slot. They didn’t score at 5-on-5. Crosby and his line had a minus-4 rating in that loss. Evgeni Malkin was a minus-3 in his return. And Tristan Jarry was forced into action because Casey DeSmith got hurt.
Other than that, it was another wonderful evening here in Philadelphia.
The Penguins came out flat in that one and found themselves down 3-0 after the first intermission. They turned the tables on the Flyers on Tuesday night.
Marcus Pettersson, channeling his inner Bobby Orr, scored less than two minutes into the game to get the Penguins off to a strong start this time around.
Jared McCann turned down a shot from the slot to slip a pass through to the lanky defenseman, who used his long limbs to pull the puck around goalie Brian Elliott. Tripped up, Pettersson was horizontal when the red light flickered on.
It was Pettersson’s first goal since Jan. 17. That was the team’s home opener.
The physicality and intensity ratcheted up in the second period as the Flyers pushed back. Mark Friedman fought former teammate Joel Farabee. Konecny sent Rust to the dressing room with an uncalled trip. Then Crosby grappled with Konecny in the corner and the two barked at each other on the way to the box.
George Parros, the embattled head of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, will have another busy morning Wednesday sorting through all that stuff. Crosby could face further discipline for shoving Konecny’s face into the ice twice.
The teams combined for four goals and 18 penalty minutes during the period.
Jake Guentzel got his team-leading 23rd goal with the Penguins on the power play then Crosby scored, on the play on which Rust was injured, to make it 3-0. Justin Braun and Sean Couturier scored to pull the Flyers back within a goal.
Jason Zucker scored midway through the third period after Kasperi Kapanen and Evgeni Malkin teamed up for a takeaway as the Flyers tried to escape the zone. But Konecny scored off a fluky bounce to get the Flyers back within a goal.
Crosby ripped a one-timer past Elliott to put the game out of reach. Friedman and John Marino poured it on with late goals. But even Friedman’s empty-netter didn’t occur without incident. He got cross-checked after tucking that home.
One gets the vibe that Friedman wasn’t a beloved teammate here in Philly.
Jarry, who has been excellent since that third-period meltdown against New Jersey on April 20, made 30 saves in the win. The biggest came early in third when Claude Giroux streaked in alone on the goalie. Jarry boarded up his five-hole.
He made another memorable one when the Penguins had a 1-0 lead and a power play in the second period. Couturier got behind the defense on the counterattack but Jarry slid across to keep it out. Moments later, Guentzel made it 2-0.
Two of Philadelphia’s three goals came on crazy caroms in front of Jarry.
The Penguins lost their first three games at Wells Fargo Center in 2021, including a pair of lopsided losses to open the season that had some proclaiming that the Flyers were the Pennsylvania team that would push for the division title.
With a few days left in the season, the Penguins are the ones still standing.
The Penguins have an off day Wednesday and then will finish out the regular season with home games against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and Saturday.
