Extra Point Eludes Penguins Once Again Despite Nedeljkovic's 'Phenomenal' Play

The Flyers again got the extra point on Monday in Philadelphia, as they defeated the Penguins in overtime for a second straight game, winning by a score of 2-1.

Sidney Crosby had the lone goal for Pittsburgh, becoming the all-time leading point-getter against the Flyers in NHL history, while Alex Nedeljkovic played terrific between the pipes. The goaltender made 32 saves and doing everything within his power to give his team a chance to win. But Sean Couturier was able to convert a 2-on-1 to give his team the victory, which was emblematic of how the night went for Pittsburgh.

“Ned was phenomenal,” Bryan Rust said. “We gave up far too many really nice looks, as you guys saw. He made some really good saves on every single one except for that last one.”

Rust stopped and added with a wry laugh, “If he stopped that last one, that would have been miraculous. But he was phenomenal all night.”

The Penguins weren’t happy with their effort on Saturday in Pittsburgh, saying their energy level wasn’t where it needed to be. They did better in that regard tonight, jumping out to a 10-8 edge in shots in the first period. And while the Penguins gave up more than they created during their first power play, the NHL’s best trio at 5-on-5 went to work shortly after.

Rust sent his linemates on a 2-on-1, with Guentzel setting up Crosby for a re-direct. No other line in the NHL has more goals at even strength than their 23. Guentzel (25) and Crosby (23) are the NHL’s top-two even-strength point-getters, while the captain leads the league with 13 goals (and 15 total).

However, the Penguins’ woes at 5-on-4 continued despite once again adjusting their personnel, putting Kris Letang back on the top unit with Erik Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin, Crosby, and Guentzel. During their second opportunity of the night early in the second period, that group surrendered a second shorthanded breakaway to Travis Konecny, with Nedeljkovic having to work harder than he should have in that situation.

When asked if there’s anything he can put his finger on in regards to their struggles, Rust replied, “I've been asked that question a lot recently, and if I had a really good answer for you, I would give you a really good answer. Everybody who's on that unit, been on that unit, thinking about that unit, coaching that unit, is really upset with how things are going. We're trying our best to get going, and things aren't going. So, we got to just keep working.”

The Flyers had a ton of momentum in the first half of the middle frame, and tied it up as a result, with rookie Tyson Foerster getting on the board. The Penguins eventually started swinging momentum back onto their side with some particularly strong shifts from Lars Eller and Evgeni Malkin’s lines, but Flyers goalie Carter Hart produced some great goaltending of his own to keep the score tied.

"We're trying, and I think right now we are in a bit of a rut. Pucks just aren't going in for us. Their guy played good tonight, he made a flurry of saves in the second period,” Nedeljkovic said. “You give him credit, he played well. And for whatever reason, pucks just aren't going in for us but the job doesn't change for myself and for Jars.”

Philadelphia came out strong in the final frame before the Penguins responded, and the game went past regulation. Pittsburgh had the puck a fair amount, but couldn’t do anything with it, while the Flyers had some Grade-A chances when they were in possession. They were able to capitalize.

When it comes to overall takeaways from this home-and-home heading into the rest of the road trip, with Tampa Bay on Wednesday and Florida on Friday, Karlsson said they need to figure out how to sustain more pressure and create more chances without their opponent having to give them away.

“You're gonna get those anyways, we give teams chances from plays that we make, mistakes that we make, and they do the same,” Karlsson said. “We're gonna get those regardless of what we do. We have to find a way to create our own chances. With the team that we have here, we should be able to do that. Throughout the course of the season so far, we have not.”