Flyers defeat Penguins in exhibition game in NHL return

Sidney Crosby said he had no issues playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in an exhibition game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tuesday, the first NHL game played since March 11.

Crosby played 23 shifts totaling 19:03 after the center missed five of Pittsburgh's final six practice or scrimmage sessions during training camp for undisclosed reasons. He did practice Monday in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

"I felt good physically," he said. "I felt good, I felt strong, just anticipating and making plays and that kind of stuff. That's just going to come with time. But for the most part, I felt really good. It was fun to be back out there."

The NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The Qualifiers -- eight best-of-5 series and two four team round-robins -- begin Aug. 1. Each of the 24 participating teams will play one exhibition game, with six in Toronto and six in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city.

"I thought [the NHL] did a nice job," said Penguins forward Jason Zucker, who scored the tying goal in the third period. "I thought it looked really nice, with the video boards. We can't really see [them] from our side behind the bench, but I thought they did a nice job with the setup."

Crosby skated with his usual linemates, left wing Jake Guentzel and right wing Conor Sheary. It was Guentzel's first game since injuring his shoulder Dec. 30 and he had an assist on Sheary's goal in the first period.

"With [Sheary], he's got a ton of speed, and you see today on the goal he's got great finish there," Crosby said. "He's hard on pucks and creates all those loose pucks. ... Then obviously [Guentzel], he does so many things well, anticipates. I think both of them can play any type of game, whether it's up and down or it's a tight-checking game, whatever it is. They can play it at both ends and play well."

Flyers goalie Carter Hart, who missed two days of on-ice work with an undisclosed injury, made 11 saves on 12 shots in the first two periods. Brian Elliott made 13 saves on 14 shots in the third period and overtime.

"It was nice to get in the game," Hart said. "It's been a long time for both clubs. It was just nice to get things rolling and just feel what it's like to be in for us. ... This game was good for us to see what it's going to be like. I thought we played well tonight."

Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere had an assist on Scott Laughton's goal with 2:20 left in overtime, and two shot attempts playing 18:20. Gostisbehere had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in late May, and a similar procedure on his left knee Jan. 14. He played two games after the surgery on his left knee.

"I'm definitely 100 percent right now," he said. "I feel good. Probably the healthiest I've felt a couple years, so I'm happy to contribute in any way I can. It's just good to be healthy and it was good to be out there playing again, having fun, and obviously winning too."

Gostisbehere is trying to earn a spot in the lineup for the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers, which will determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers play the Boston Bruins on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVAS), the Washington Capitals on Aug. 6, and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 8. The Flyers will play a winner from the four best-of-5 Cup Qualifier series in the East in the first round of the playoffs, which starts Aug. 11.

"I liked [Gostisbehere's] game today," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I thought he tried to make some plays with the puck, but obviously like the rest of our group it was his first game in a long time. He made some good plays. There's some battles obviously for that starting lineup on the 11th that are going to happen here throughout the next couple of weeks. Today was our first game and I expect us to get better every game."

Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes scored first-period goals for Philadelphia.

Matt Murray made 10 saves on 12 shots in 29:55 of ice time for Pittsburgh. He was replaced by Tristan Jarry, who made nine saves on 10 shots.

The Penguins, the No. 5 seed in the East, will play the Montreal Canadiens, the No. 12 seed, in a qualifier series that starts Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"I thought we got better as the game went on," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought it was a sloppy game, especially in the first couple of periods. I guess it's probably to be expected, given the fact that these guys haven't played in in quite a while. I thought the second half of the game we improved. We started to execute.

"It's the one opportunity that we had to try to assess where we're at, look at some of the areas where we think we were good and find the areas where we know we can improve and get better. And we'll go to work on those starting tomorrow."

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report