Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 1
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 15, 2018
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Chris Rooney
Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Derek Nansen
Attendance:
19955
By Field Level Media
Sidney Crosby scored one goal and added three assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Justin Schultz, Derick Brassard, Evgeni Malkin and Brian Dumoulin also scored for the Penguins, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Kris Letang also had two assists for the Penguins, and goaltender Matt Murray was terrific with 26 saves.
Malkin recorded his 100th career playoff assist on Schultz's goal.
The Flyers couldn't capitalize on their momentum gained in Game 2 as goaltender Brian Elliott struggled with 21 saves on 26 shots.
Travis Sanheim scored for the Flyers.
Pittsburgh sealed the victory with a power-play goal by Schultz for a commanding 5-1 lead at 7:08 of the third period. The power play was set up after a high sticking penalty called on Philadelphia's Jake Voracek.
The Penguins dominated the early part of the second with three goals to go ahead 4-0.
Brassard made it 2-0 at 2:48 on the power play.
Then the Penguins struck for two goals in five seconds. Malkin's blast on a 4-on-3 power play gave them a 3-0 advantage on his 60th career playoff goal.
Five seconds later, Dumoulin received a pass from Crosby and scored for a 4-0 lead at 6:53.
Sanheim got the Flyers on the board with his first career playoff goal to get within 4-1 at 13:42.
Philadelphia was hurt by its poor power play, going 0 for 4 through the first two periods.
The Flyers had a couple of good early chances as Sanheim had a shot saved by the right pad of Murray with 17:52 left in the first.
Pittsburgh struck first as Crosby scored on a beautiful wraparound at 10:25. It was Crosby's fourth goal of the series following a hat trick in Game One.
Valtteri Filppula nearly equalized for the Flyers with 1:44 remaining but Murray stymied the opportunity with a great save.
Murray shined in the first period, stopping all 11 Philadelphia shots.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Pittsburgh |
|
Philadelphia |
Sidney Crosby 4 |
Points |
Travis Sanheim 1 |
Sidney Crosby 1 |
Goals |
Travis Sanheim 1 |
Sidney Crosby 3 |
Assists |
Nolan Patrick 1 |
Evgeni Malkin 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Matt Murray .963 |
Save Percentage |
Brian Elliott .808 |
Matt Murray 26 |
Saves |
Brian Elliott 21 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Pittsburgh
|
26 |
5 |
3-7 |
6-6 |
14 |
32 |
Philadelphia
|
27 |
1 |
0-6 |
4-7 |
16 |
28 |
Upcoming Games
-
Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Flyers have a W/L % of .561 after a win and .463 after a loss.
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Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Penguins have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .667 after a loss.