POSTGAME 5: Late Push Falls Short in 4-2 Loss to Pittsburgh

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Sunday evening. The Flyers trailed 3-0 in the third period, pushed back to within 3-2, but were unable to find an equalizer before yielding an empty net goal.

Even-strength and power play goals by Rickard Rakell (26th and 27th of the season) at 11:40 and 15:43 of the first period built a 2-0 lead for the Penguins.
In the second period, Bryan Rust (19th) made it 3-0 at 13:23. A would-be goal by Morgan Frost at 16:58 was disallowed for goalie interference by Farabee, and the Penguins took their three-goal lead to the second intermission.
In the final stanza, tallies by Nicolas Deslauriers (6th) at 5:57 and Travis Konecny (6-on-5, 29th) narrowed the Flyers' deficit to 3-2 with 2:29 remaining on the clock. However, a Ryan Poehling empty-net goal (7th) at 18:48 iced the 4
The Flyers scored one that counted at 5:57 of the third period on a goal at the net by Nicolas Deslauriers (6th).
Ramus Ristolainen (upper-body injury) missed the game. He is considered day-to-day. Carter Hart (lower-body injury) missed his fourth straight game.
Samuel Ersson stopped 27 of 30 shots in a losing cause. Casey DeSmith made several 10-bell saves among his 31 saves on 33 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power play. The Penguins went 1-for-4.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
86 Joel Farabee - 48 Morgan Frost - 74 Owen Tippett
21 Scott Laughton - 49 Noah Cates - 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk - 13 Kevin Hayes - 57 Wade Allison
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 22 Brendan Lemieux - 20 Kieffer Bellows
9 Ivan Provorov - 45 Cam York
6 Travis Sanheim - 61 Justin Braun
24 Nick Seeler - 77 Tony DeAngelo
33 Samuel Ersson
[32 Felix Sandström]
TURNING POINT
The pinballing Rakell goal not only gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead in the first period but it clearly shifted momentum in game play after the Flyers had an earlier edge. Once the Penguins pulled again, the Flyers spent the rest of the night chasing the game on the scoreboard.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Cates and York made good plays up-ice as the Sidney Crosby line spent the game's first shift hemmed in their defensive zone. The first whistle was at the 2:00 mark. Shots on goal were 2-0 Flyers through 3:00.
Cates forced a turnover along the wall. Allison snapped a shot on net.
At the 6:00 mark, Cam York was tripped up by Mikael Granlund in the neutral zone. An embellishment call against York made it a 4-on-4 rather than a Flyers power play.
On the 4-on-4, Konecny had a 2-on-1 rush with Frost off a lead pass from Sanheim. DeSmith made an excellent lateral save on Frost to keep the game scoreless. At the other end of the ice, Sanheim broke up a play and the puck dribbled harmlessly to Ersson.
Through 10:36 shots were 5-3 Flyers. Wade Allison landed two hits on the same shift. The teams traded off chances and either end, including one for Allison off a Farabee pass and an initial takeaway by Frost.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead on a lucky bounce at 11:40. Malkin won an offensive zone draw against Cates. Briam Dumoulin got the puck to Rickard Rakell. His shot from the high slot flew over the net but then caromed off the glass, came out in front and then went into the off Ersson's back. The assists went to Dumoulin and Malkin.
Tippett and Sanheim turned over the puck and Pittsburgh pressured in the Flyers' defensive zone. The Flyers had a couple of clearing opportunities but failed. Finally, at 13:25, Sanheim took a slashing penalty.Pittsburgh made Philly pay on the ensuing power play. Moving the puck crisply, Crosby passed to Malkin. Malkin's shot/pass to the slot was deftly re-directed past Ersson by Rakell at 14:53.
At 17:05, after Cates forced a turnover and sent the puck across to Konecny, DeSmith reached behind him to rob TK from point blank range. The play was briefly reviewed to see if the puck crossed the goal line on the glove save.
The Penguins iced the puck at 17:48. Frost won the ensuing draw but the Flyers were unable to establish a forecheck. At 18:25, Letang blasted a slapshot on net from the point.
2) The first eight minutes of the game were solid for the Flyers. Thereafter, the Penguins took over the period. DeSmith made a strong save on Frost and a spectacular one against Konecny along the way.
First period shots on goal were 15-7 Pittsburgh. Shot attempts were 24-9 Pittsburgh. Scoring chances were 14-6 Pittsburgh. High-danger chances were 10-4 Pittsburgh. Faceoffs were 14-9 Pittsburgh.
3) Early in the second period, Frost erased his own turnover high in the offensive end with a takeaway in the defensive zone and a 2-on-1 with Farabee. Farabee shot the puck over the net.
At one end, Ersson robbed Malkin. At the other, DeSmith made an excellent save on Tippett. At 6:51, Hayes had a look from the left circle but hit the outside of the post. Shots on goal for the period were 5-2 Flyers.
At 7:18, Sanheim was called for tripping Crosby in the neutral zone, Thirteen seconds into the penalty, Malkin hooked Provorov off the puck and was called for a minor penalty. During the 4-on-4, Granlund put a tricky shot on net. Later, a backchecking play on Bryan Rust by Braun after Philly was initially caught up ice erased a scoring chance for Pittsburgh.
A scramble around the Flyers net produced a delayed high sticking penalty on Pittsburgh's Malkin. The touch-up came at 10:31. The Flyers won the first faceoff and had two subsequent entries but never generated any consequential scoring chances.
At 13:23, a give-and-go with Rust and Crosby sent Rust in one-on-one with Ersson. Rust scored. The assists went to Crosby and Jeff Petry.
Granlund snapped a shot on net that Ersson stopped from the deep slot. At 14:23, Malkin clipped York with a high-stick. The power play lasted only 22 seconds as Cates was called for interference in the neutral zone.

With 3:02 left in the period, Farabee attempted a shot and went to the blue paint. Farabee, tangled up with Petry, made contact with DeSmith as Frost shot from the right circle. The puck went in the net. However, the would-be goal was waved off immediately for goaltender interference by Farabee at 16:58.
Lemieux had a shot off a drop pass by Laughton in the waning seconds of the second period. DeSmith made another save.
4) Second period shots on goal were 13-10 Flyers. Shot attempts were 25-14 Flyers. Scoring chances were 15-11 Flyers.High-danger chances favored the Flyers, 9-4. Faceoffs were 10-7 Flyers.
5) With the Penguins complaining about an unpenalized high stick, Heinen was dispatched on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 1:49 of the third period, while Malkin was hit with a 10-minute misconduct.Philly generated three shots on goal but could not score or generate a Grade A chance.
The Flyers got on the board at 5:57. Tenacious work down low by DeAngelo and JVR and a DeAngelo pass to a wide open Deslauriers in front of the net led to the goal.
Konecny was called for hooking at 7:33. Laughton had a chance at one end and Crosby was denied by Ersson at the other. The Flyers killed it off but lost two minutes off the clock in the process.
Mark Friedman was called for delay of game at 10:25, while Konecny was called for a retaliatory slashing minor on the same play. Two minutes of four-on-four ensued.
At 12:50, Frost jumped on a loose puck in front and the stick slashed out of his hands by Crosy. Philly went back to the power play. Konecny hit the post and Tippett was robbed by DeSmith's outstretched blocker (29th save).
Sanheim one-timed a shot on net. Ersson was pulled for a 6-on-4. Philly worked the puck all around the offensive zone. Farabee sent it down to Frost below the goal line. From behind the net, Frost centered it to Konecny in the slot. TK snapped a shot past DeSmith to narrow the score to 3-2. The assists went to Frost and Farabee at 17:31.
The Flyers pulled Ersson again at their first opportunity. DeAngelo lost the puck at the blueline to Dumoulin. Granlund passed to Poehling, who scored unassisted into the empty net to make it 4-2 at 18:45.
Philadelphia pulled Ersson yet again. Pittsburgh blocked two desperation shot attempts and finally cleared the puck as time was about to expire.
Third period shots on goal were 13-6 Flyers. Shot attempts were 28-11 Flyers. Scoring chances were 12-7 Flyers with a 6-4 high danger edge. Final faceoffs were 29-27 Flyers.