National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 0
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 15, 2014
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees: Frederic L'Ecuyer, Francois St.Laurent
Linesmen: Scott Driscoll, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 19993

Flyers 4, Penguins 0: Steve Mason turned aside 25 shots for his fourth shutout of the season as host Philadelphia cruised in the opener of a home-and-home set with rival Pittsburgh.

Matt Read scored twice while Scott Hartnell and Vincent Lecavalier added goals for the Flyers, who halted a two-game losing skid. Mason faced little opposition from the high-flying Penguins, making just seven saves in the first and third periods and 11 in the middle frame to preserve his 23rd career shutout.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 36 shots for the Penguins, who saw their three-game winning streak halted and fell three points behind Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Keystone State rivals will renew acquaintances Sunday afternoon at Consol Energy Center.

Hartnell opened the scoring 3:50 into the game, one-timing captain Claude Giroux's feed past Fleury on the blocker side. Read extended the advantage with the Flyers short-handed at 8:12, blazing into the low slot and slapping Sean Couturier's pass from behind the net into the top right corner.

Lecavalier's 15th goal made it a 3-0 game at the 14-minute mark of the second frame, and Read added to the onslaught at 19:43 - finishing off a brilliant tic-tac-toe passing play with Giroux and Couturier by sliding a low shot past an out-of-position Fleury.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Pittsburgh entered the afternoon with the league's top power play but went 0-for-5 against the Flyers and surrendered Read's 4-on-5 tally, their fifth short-handed goal against. ... Penguins F James Neal missed the game after being diagnosed with a concussion Thursday. ... Read has four multi-goal games on the season.
Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Philadelphia
N/A Points Matt Read 2
N/A Goals Matt Read 2
N/A Assists Sean Couturier 2
N/A Power Play Goals Scott Hartnell 1
N/A Short Handed Goals Matt Read 1
Marc-Andre Fleury .900 Save Percentage Steve Mason 1.000
Marc-Andre Fleury 36 Saves Steve Mason 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 25 0 0-5 3-4 8 24
Philadelphia 40 4 1-4 5-5 10 31
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Flyers have a W/L % of .515 after a win and .515 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Penguins have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .667 after a loss.