Penguins 2, Flyers 1

So what happened?
Simon Gagne lost his cool. With the Flyers up 1-0, Gagne took exception to a hard hit by Geno. He skated off of the boards, grabbed Malkin from behind, turned him around and informed him of his displeasure. The problem with this was that there was game action going on, and the Flyers scored a goal before the ref could blow the whistle. The goal was waved off and the Pens went on the power play with Gonchar tying the score.

I'd like to award Player of the Game to Gagne for losing it there - if he keeps his cool, the Flyers have a 2-0 lead and could be on their way to a blowout.

The power play came through in a big way when it mattered most too - both with Sarge's goal and Cooke's game winner with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

Sid had his game at another level today, and I counted 6 "Crosby Sucks" parts from the Flyers organist. I have to say, as much as I think it's a disgrace for the NHL, it works well for the Pens, because no one is better fired up than Crosby.

As a fan, this was a very satisfying win to watch.

Who scored?
Gonchar (8), Cooke (11)

Any surprises?
The PK killed off 8 out of 9 chances, but that's not the surprise. The surprising thing is that the 9 power plays against only ties the season high (they also had 9 against when they played Phoenix).

Any change in the standings?
More of the same - just a little shifting.

Division: 2nd (four points behind New Jersey)

Conference: 4th (two points behind Buffalo)

League: 6th (two points behind Buffalo)

Who's next?
A quick turnaround to MSG tomorrow night.

Notes:

• This one had all of the intensity you'd expect. It also had an amazing lack of discipline from both teams. The Pens were lucky to take advantage.