With the Philadelphia Flyers missing Travis Konecny and Nick Seeler, and the Pittsburgh Penguins without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Saturday night’s Battle of Pennsylvania felt a bit unpredictable.
Following Friday’s deadline trade that sent Bobby Brink to Minnesota, the Flyers called up Alex Bump from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for his NHL debut, and it was a great night for him.
1st Period
The Penguins went to the power play early after Rasmus Ristolainen was called for holding just 1:31 into the game. Tommy Novak capitalized with the man advantage to open the scoring. Ville Koivunen started the sequence by sending the puck toward Justin Brazeau near the net. Brazeau then fed Novak in the slot, and Novak ripped a shot past Dan Vladař to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead.
The Flyers needed less than a minute to respond with Owen Tippett burying Philadelphia’s first shot on goal to tie the game. Cam York started the play with a backhand pass to Trevor Zegras, who knocked the puck down with his glove before quickly sliding it to Tippett for the finish.
Later in the period, Luke Glendening was sent off for high-sticking Brazeau at 9:12, but the Flyers’ penalty kill stood strong.
Philadelphia received its first power play at 13:44 when Brazeau was called for tripping Glendening. However, the Flyers could not generate much offense and failed to record a shot during the power play.
Near the end of the period, Avery Hayes laid a big hit on York, prompting Jamie Drysdale to immediately step in. Drysdale dropped the gloves for his first NHL fight. Both players received five-minute fighting majors, while Drysdale was also assessed an additional roughing minor.
2nd Period
Drysdale’s extra penalty carried over into the second period, but the Flyers’ penalty kill kept the game tied.
Pittsburgh regained the lead at 3:38 when Rickard Rakell scored on the Penguins’ first shot of the period. Egor Chinakhov set up the play with Bryan Rust earning the secondary assist as the puck found its way past multiple Flyers before beating Vladař.
Just over a minute later, the Flyers had their answer again. Bump scored his first career goal at 4:46. Nikita Grebenkin delivered a slick behind-the-back pass from along the boards to Bump in front of the net, and he buried it. With his family and friends in attendance for his the NHL debut, it is a great celebration for everyone.
Another quick response, this time from the Penguins, just 59 seconds after Bump’s goal. After Rakell won a faceoff against Zegras, Chinakhov moved the puck over to Erik Karlsson, who scored from up top to restore Pittsburgh’s lead.
Philadelphia battled back yet again. At 10:03, Noah Cates kept the puck from exiting the zone before sending it to Matvei Michkov. Michkov quickly found Denver Barkey in front, and Barkey beat Stuart Skinner cleanly to tie the game 3-3.
Later in the period, Kris Letang was called for a penalty at 13:02, but the Flyers’ power play came up empty despite some solid puck movement. In the final seconds of the power play, Connor Dewar got a shorthanded chance, but Vladař made the save.
3rd Period
The third period was the quietest stretch of the night, with nearly eight minutes passing before either team registered a shot on goal.
At 3:54, Christian Dvorak was called for slashing, but strong defensive work from Sean Couturier and Glendening helped Philadelphia successfully kill the penalty.
Later, Carl Grundström was assessed a high-sticking minor at 13:19. This time it was Vladař who led the penalty kill effort, making several key saves as the Penguins controlled possession.
Overtime
Overtime featured an early Flyers chance when Novak was down behind the play, giving Drysdale, Michkov, and Zegras a 3-on-2 opportunity. Drysdale’s shot went wide and Skinner turned aside Zegras’ attempt.
With 2:51 remaining, Vladař was called for interference against Karlsson in a somewhat questionable decision. Despite the disadvantage, Travis Sanheim and Cates cleared the puck multiple times while Vladař made two saves to send the game to a shootout.
Shootout
Pittsburgh shot first, but Anthony Mantha was denied.
Michkov was unsuccessful on Philadelphia’s first attempt, and Rakell also came up empty for the Penguins.
Zegras then stepped up and continued his shootout success, beating Skinner to give the Flyers the advantage. The goal improved Zegras to 6-for-9 this season and 19-for-30 in his career.
Vladař sealed the win with a save on Chinakhov’s attempt, securing the second point for Philadelphia.
Bump was named the game’s first star after scoring in his NHL debut, while Barkey earned the third star of the night. Vladař finished with 20 saves on 23 shots for an .870 save percentage.
Up Next
The Flyers return to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday, March 9, when they host the New York Rangers with puck drop set for 7pm/ET.
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