Flyers-Penguins Game 1 Recap: Did That Actually Happen?
Flyers 4, Penguins 3 (OT). Before the game, that scoreline would have sounded completely reasonable and plausible. After the first period? It sounded unlikely and improbable. But this Flyers team that has battled through injuries and early-game deficits time and time again managed to complete a monumental comeback last night to steal Game 1 in Pittsburgh. Here’s what happened on the ice last night:
The puck dropped in the raucous Consol Energy Center and the Penguins didn’t seem to let go of it for the next 20 minutes. They peppered the net with shots and held the puck in the offensive zone for extended periods of time. When the Flyers did manage to get the puck, they were forced to dump it into the Pittsburgh zone. Scoring chances were few and far between. Less than 4 minutes into the game, Pascal Dupuis fired a shot on net. It was blocked by Nik Grossmann, but he couldn’t find the puck in his skates. It took a fortuitous bounce to Sidney Crosby, who executed a perfect backhand chip over Ilya Bryzgalov’s left shoulder and into the top right corner of the net to give the Penguins an early 1-0 lead. It was also assisted by Kris Letang.
As the Flyers have been prone to do after falling behind 1-0, they gave up the next goal as well. After a Flyers turnover in the neutral zone, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy had a 2-on-1 rush with Andreas Lilja the only Flyer left back on defense. Lilja overcommitted towards Staal and Staal founded Kennedy with plenty of room to shoot on a beautiful saucer pass, and he buried it past Bryzgalov’s blocker and into the back of the net. Less than 8 minutes into the game, the Penguins had a 2-0 lead and all the momentum. Kris Letang picked up his 2nd assist of the period on the play. Coach Peter Laviolette had seen enough, and called his timeout to try to regroup the troops.
The Flyers continued to struggle to gain any sort of consistent offense. They finally got their first big chance when Jaromir Jagr was sprung by a long pass for a breakaway. Much to the delight of the Penguins faithful, who booed Jagr during the season and this game at every chance they had Jagr’s shot found Marc-Andre Fleury’s stick and ricocheted wide. It was the only main scoring chance of the period for the Flyers, and Jagr failed to convert.
The Flyers were looking to escape to the locker room down just 2-0 after a 20-minute blitzkrieg by the Penguins. Unfortunately, they could not. With just 37 seconds left in the period, Pascal Dupuis threw a puck at the net from behind the goal line and in the corner. It looked like an attempted centering pass. It hit Bryzgalov and he seemed to have no idea where the puck was. It hopped past him and slowly trickled into the far corner of the net for what appeared to be a backbreaking goal and a 3-0 Penguin lead. Bryz saw the puck behind him, but it was too late to make the save. On the replay, it was clear that a Flyer touched the puck first and icing should have been called, but it wasn’t and the puck ended up in the back of the net. It was every Flyers’ fan’s worst nightmare: their $51M man giving up a soft goal in his very first postseason start with the team. Sidney Crosby and Steve Sullivan picked up the assists on the goals, and the Flyers skated into the dressing room with their heads hung low and the game looking out of reach. Pittsburgh had outshot them 13-6, and that stat wasn’t even indicative of how dominant the Penguins were in the period.
In the 2nd period, Ilya Bryzgalov stepped up. The Penguins tested him time and time again, and he answered the bell all period, saving all 10 shots on goal that he faced. He gave the Flyers a chance to get back in the game, and they began to get more opportunities. The Flyers had a 3-on-1 chance early in the period, but Fleury made a spectacular save on Scott Hartnell to keep the Flyers off the board.
Just minutes later Danny Briere, making his triumphant return from a back injury, capitalized on an opportunity. Brayden Schenn, playing in his first playoff game, was one of the few Flyers who were physical and alert in the first period. On this play, he took advantage of a Penguin turnover at neutral ice and sent the puck back up the middle to the offensive zone. Briere exploded between 2 defenders and got a breakaway chance on Fleury. Fleury committed first, going down and attempting to stack his pads together. Briere calmly put the puck over him, and the Flyers were on the board. Despite another few chances for both teams, including 2 power play opportunities for the Penguins, the score remained at 3-1 when the period ended.
The Flyers simply wanted it more in the 3rd period. They began to win the races to loose pucks and began to take control of the 1-on-1 battles on the boards. Bryzgalov continued his stellar play, turning shots away left and right. The one shot he didn’t save was a laser from Jordan Staal, which clanked off the goalpost and out of harm’s way. The pinging sound reverberated through an oddly quiet Consol Energy Center. Matt Carle had a golden opportunity later in the period, but Fleury committed left-handed larceny as he snatched the wrister with his glove.
As Pascal Dupuis showed earlier in the game, good things happen if you get pucks to the net. Danny Briere must have been watching, because halfway through the period he took a pass from Brayden Schenn behind the net and carried the puck out to the left faceoff circle. He then whipped a low wrist shot on net as his momentum carried him away from the goal and it banked off the outside post and in to cut the lead to 3-2. Fleury didn’t see the puck until it was too late, as Crosby had been unintentionally screening him from the puck. It was Briere’s second goal of the game, and Schenn’s second assist. Amazingly, the Flyers were right back in the game, and with half a period to play.
About a minute later, Briere was leveled with a massive hit behind the net by Brooks Orpik. The refs had been letting them play for much of the game (however, they were letting the Penguins play more), but they whistled Orpik for an interference call. This was the Flyers’ first opportunity on the power play, and would turn out to be their only one. They didn’t let it go to waste. With under 20 seconds left on the PP, Scott Hartnell, who was at the end of a long shift and was near the bench, fired a slap pass (which might have been a shot) all the way across the ice. It skimmed perfectly across the ice and found a streaking Brayden Schenn on the far post for a redirection past a sprawled-out Fleury to tie the game with under 8 minutes to play. Jaromir Jagr also picked up the assist on the rookie’s first playoff goal. The Flyers had all the momentum, and a good shot to win the game in regulation.
The Flyers had the better of the chances the rest of regulation, but neither team could find a game-winner and the game went to overtime. It was only fitting after all of the hype that was built up for the series in the days preceding it that the first game would be an instant classic.
Jakub Voracek made sure that the fans wouldn’t endure another 5-OT game like the 2000 playoff marathon between the two teams. Just
2:23 into OT, Matt Carle fired a shot on net that bounced off Fleury’s pad and to his left, leaving a juicy rebound. Voracek, crashing the far post, had plenty of room to work with and flipped the rebound past the diving Fleury to give the Flyers an incredible, come-from-behind Game 1 victory that seemed nearly impossible after the first period. Matt Read also picked up an assist on the game-winner.
Looking Back on the Keys to the Game:
In my preview, my 3 keys to yesterday’s game were Ilya Bryzgalov, special teams, and returns from injury. Bryzgalov settled down after a shaky start and was instrumental in helping the Flyers win the game. The Flyers also won the special teams battle, as they went 3 for 3 on the PK and 1-1 on the PP. The injury returns were a mixed bag. Briere had a spectacular game with 2 crucial goals, but Nik Grossmann was a -2 and looked slow on the ice as he was playing with braces on both knees.
Injury News:
Marc-Andre Bourdon left the game early with an “upper-body injury” and did not return. While hockey players are notoriously tough, the fact that he couldn’t play suggests that it’s fairly serious. The injury, combined with his lackluster play in the game, probably suggests that Pavel Kubina, who was a surprising Game 1 scratch, will get the nod in Game 2. If Bourdon is deemed healthy, the Flyers could still opt for Kubina over Andreas Lilja, who was also subpar in the contest.