After the first 40 minutes of play on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins had no business trailing only 2-1 heading into the final frame.
They were getting outworked, outskated, and outplayed by the Flyers, who had almost full control of the game. They were hemming the Penguins in their own zone with regularity, and they were forcing Pittsburgh to make mistakes and turn the puck over on a consistent basis.
A game like this is when a team needs its goaltender to step up. And - in this case - that's exactly what happened.
Penguins' goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 32 of 34 Flyers' shots, including 13 of 14 in a second period where he had to make several ten-bell saves. Had he let even one of those high-danger chances in, this game probably has a much different outcome. But he delivered.
For the eighth time in 11 games this season, the Penguins opened the scoring. Midway through the opening frame, hot forward Justin Brazeau swooped down the left side and used his frame to make a move toward the net, where the puck trickeld through Flyers' goaltender Sam Ersson.
But, even with the first goal in this one, it didn't feel like the Penguins were playing well, and their special teams - they went 0-for-4 on the power play and surrendered a power play goal - weren't doing them any favors. That power play tally came in the form of a Bobby Brink goal within the final three minutes of the first, and Travis Konecny scored early in the second to put the Flyers ahead, 2-0.
Again, the first 40-plus minutes were rough for the Penguins. But it was their goaltender who gave them the chance to play on and vye for a win in the third period.
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A little more than midway through the second period, Sidney Crosby was below the goal line, and he intended to pass the puck to the slot area. It hit a Flyer stick on the way out, then it hit Ersson, and it hit the net as well. The puck ended up in the back of the net for Crosby's eighth of the season, and the game was tied at 2-2.
Then, things got even crazier.
Overtime was forced, and there was so much packed into the five minutes. The Penguins got awarded a power play when Flyers' forward Trevor Zegras went off for slashing on a Kris Letang breakaway opportunity. On the delayed penalty, Evgeni Malkin came streaking into the slot, took the shot, and sniped one past Ersson.
However, the only problem was that Silovs was far more than five feet from the bench when Malkin substituted for him, so it was a premature change. No goal.
Shortly after yet another failed power play by the Penguins, the Flyers got a power play of their own to close out the overtime. Tyson Foerster appeared to end it for the Flyers, but the play was deemed offside. No goal.
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It wasn't always pretty, and it wasn't always clean.
So, it went to a shootout. But not before a brawl ensued at the end of the overtime period when Trevor Zegras delivered a few shots to the head of Connor Dewar, who was down on the ice already. Noel Acciari went after Zegras, and somewhere in the scuffle, Crosby left the bench.
Both Crosby and Zegras were assessed 10-minute misconducts, and they were ineligible for the shootout. This was a big blow for the Flyers, as Zegras is one of the best in the league at it.
But, it was no matter. Matvei Michkov and Bobby Brink had some insane moves in store for Silovs, who had no chance. Malkin scored for Pittsburgh, and Rust and rookie Ville Koivunen missed, rendering the Flyers victorious.
It was a crazy game from start to finish, and the Penguins probably had no business coming away with a point. But, because they did, they are 5-0-2 in their last seven, and they are tied atop the league standings.
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