Penguins 5, Flyers 4

Before we talk about the game, did you think that when Talbot missed the open net that it would come back to bite the Pens? I sure did. I'm glad it didn't matter.

This wasn't easy by any means. The Pens had a two goal lead in the third for the second consecutive game and blew the lead. That will have to change.

For now, the blown lead didn't matter. The team found a way to win the game, and boy was it fun to watch.

The Flyers came out hard, trying to be as dumb as humanly possible "set the tone", led by (who else) Scott Hartnell. Scotty may be one of the dumbest hockey player I've ever seen. It never ceases to amaze me how many comically stupid penalties he'll take. This time, he crosschecked Gonchar three times, earning two minutes.

Only 10 seconds into the Penguins power play, Timonen contracted a distict case of Hartnellitis, punching Malkin in the face after the whistle during a scrum in front of Biron, putting the Pens on the two man advantage.

Normally I like listening to Steigy, but when he was saying that the Flyers are more willing to be aggressive because they score more shorties than anyone else in the league, I had to laugh. I don't think you'll find any coach in the NHL that would willingly put themselves at a disadvantage in order to get in some dumb whacks at the opposition.

The Pens couldn't score on their golden early chance, but they did put some pressure on Biron. Marty came up big with some nice saves.

Lupul put the Flyers up 1-0 with a nice backhand shot on a puck that wound up on his stick right in front of Fleury.

The Pens scored three times in the second period, two times by the line of Crosby, Dupuis and Fedotenko, and once by the power play (after another stupid two-handed crosscheck by Carter in the offensive zone).

In the third, the Flyers came back to tie the score twice, once when they were down 3-1 and once when they were down 4-3. They never took the lead, and the Pens never took the foot off of the gas. The effort paid off, as Sid's line accounted for two go-ahead goals, the last one when Biron came about 25 feet out of his crease to stop Dupuis. He stopped Pascal, but the puck was travelling towards the empty net vacated by Marty when it was tipped home by Sid for his second of the game.

Two out of the four weekend points the Pens desperately need were earned today. It was a great win, especially considering the venue.

As a special bonus, here's an exclusive picture of Scotty Hartnell, immediately after the game (yeah - I've used this picture before - I just can't help it):


Next up: A quick train ride to DC to play O-Face and the Capitals. Two more points needed! All aboard!