A long-awaited shutout for Dan Vladař. Another game-winning goal from rookie Porter Martone. A highlight-reel, shorthanded tally from Garnet Hathaway with the help of Owen Tippett. An empty-netter from Luke Glendening to seal it.
The Philadelphia Flyers are heading back home with a 2-0 series lead after commanding 3-0 win in Pittsburgh.
1st Period
The opening frame was a bit of a feeling-out process, with play going back and forth early. Travis Sanheim recorded the Flyers’ first shot on goal just 1:47 in, while Vladař did not need to make his first save until Tommy Novak put one on net at 3:43.
A little over 8 minutes in, Tyson Foerster was called for high-sticking, but the Penguins’ power play was cut short when Erik Karlsson took a tripping penalty at 9:01, leading to 4-on-4 action.
A chaotic scrum followed a save by Stuart Skinner on Rasmus Ristolainen, but only one penalty was handed out. Ristolainen got it, 2 minutes for roughing, but the Flyers killed it off.
Shortly after, at 13:18, Nick Seeler took a roughing penalty, and again Philadelphia’s penalty kill stood strong, highlighted by clears from Sean Couturier and Noah Juulsen.
Despite multiple power play opportunities, Pittsburgh managed just two shots on goal in the period, while the Flyers had five.
2nd Period
The Flyers came out flying in the second, bringing physicality and limiting Pittsburgh’s chances.
They were given a chance to take the lead with a Penguins too many men call at 5:34, but Philadelphia could not convert on the power play. Martone generated two shots during the power play, though.
After a dangerous stretch of sustained Penguins pressure, where Vladař made several key saves to keep the game scoreless, the Flyers finally broke through.
Martone finally broke through at 13:39. After battling along the boards, Christian Dvorak worked the puck behind the net and fed Travis Konecny in front. Konecny fell while attempting a shot, which was blocked by Ryan Shea, but the puck deflected right to Martone on the other side, and he buried it before Skinner could react. 1-0 Flyers.
Two minutes later, Glendening was called for cross-checking, but late in the penalty kill, Ristolainen cleared the puck and Tippett took over.
Tippett put on a highlight-reel sequence, collecting the puck off the boards, chipping it to himself to get around Novak, deking past Kris Letang, falling to his knees, getting back up, and maintaining control the entire time. With both Skinner and Ben Kindel focused on him, Tippett slid a pass across to Hathaway, who buried the shorthanded goal to make it 2-0.
Late in the period at 19:45, Evgeni Malkin was called for high-sticking Konecny, a play Malkin disagreed with, though both his stick and Ristolainen’s (which he was holding) made contact. The Flyers generated chances from Martone and Couturier, with the power play carrying into the third.
3rd Period
The Flyers could not convert on the carryover power play, and the Penguins pushed hard to get back into the game, but Vladař stood tall, turning aside everything thrown his way.
Konecny was called for interference at 6:31. During the penalty kill, Couturier and Glendening nearly connected on a shorthanded breakaway, but could not capitalize.
At 9:45, Tippett was awarded a penalty shot after being hooked by Karlsson on a breakaway, but missed wide.
Philadelphia added to the lead at 17:55, when Glendening hit the empty net, with assists from Couturier and Hathaway.
Things quickly unraveled for Pittsburgh after that. Letang took an interference penalty on Noah Cates, then added a roughing penalty after punching Cam York, along with a misconduct. Seeler and Anthony Mantha were also assessed misconducts, giving the Flyers a four-minute power play.
The chaos continued at 19:41, when Parker Wotherspoon cross-checked Tippett, opening a noticeable cut on his nose and earning himself a misconduct. Noel Acciari and Ristolainen were also handed misconducts.
Final Thoughts
This one got heated late, with a combined 82 penalty minutes handed out (52 to Pittsburgh, 30 to Philadelphia).
The Flyers dominated physically, recording 48 hits (Tippett and Hathaway led with seven each) compared to Pittsburgh’s 32. They also blocked 23 shots, four from Seeler, while the Penguins had just eight.
Philadelphia improved at the faceoff dot, winning 56.5% after struggling in Game 1. Special teams remained scoreless on the power play (Flyers 0-for-4, Penguins 0-for-5), but the Flyers got the biggest special teams moment of the night with Hathaway’s short-handed goal.
Skinner finished with 20 saves on 22 shots, numbers that do not fully reflect how many big stops he made to keep Pittsburgh within reach.
But the night belonged to Vladař. The Flyers’ MVP all season long finally gets his well-deserved shutout, stopping all 27 shots he faced and earning the first star of the night.
Martone, who scored the game-winner for the second straight game, was named the second star of the night. The rookie is now riding an eight-game point streak and has six goals and six assists through his first 11 NHL games.
Hathaway, with his short-handed goal and assist on the empty-netter, earned the third star of the night, an especially big moment after scoring just once during the regular season.
Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby has yet to register a point in the series. Despite logging 40:27 of ice time and recording seven shots, he sits at a -2 through two games.
Up Next
The series comes to Philadelphia, where the Flyers will host Games 3 and 4 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Game 3 is set for Wednesday, April 22, with puck drop scheduled for 7pm/ET.
