PHILADELPHIA – Cam York called the game for the Philadelphia Flyers (4-2), who beat the Penguins (2-4) 1-0 in an overtime thriller on Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The first period showed a Flyers team that got back to the basics of what was making them successful early in the series. They were pesky on the forecheck and were setting a trap on the backcheck.
It was not as smothering as it was in the early games. The Penguins still possessed the puck plenty and had plenty of chances. They were outshooting the Flyers for most of the game, but Philadelphia had more high-danger looks. Philly was outhitting the Penguins all game, too.
It was a battle, but after 60 minutes and 58 shots, there were still no goals. So, the Flyers and Penguins went into overtime for the first time in the series. The next goal, or the first goal, was the game winner.
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It was not quite the fast-paced start that the Flyers were hoping for. Still, through the first five minutes of the game, it was merely just shots for the Penguins, and none of any real high danger.
Owen Tippett had a good rush, turning on the jets and making a nifty move on Arturs Silovs, but his pad was there to make the stop. Tippett got an extra jab at the puck before the whistle, but the Penguins were not too happy. That led to the first scuffle of the game, but no penalties resulted from it.
Play went on, and each team had a chance or two, but nothing crazy was going on. With just a few ticks over 8 minutes to go in the period, the Penguins were given the first power play of the game after Jamie Drysdale was called for interference on Elmer Soderblom.
After a good first possession by the Penguins, Philly was able to kill it off.
Right after, the Flyers got their shot after Noel Acciari was called for holding. The Flyers were generating some momentum, keeping the crowd buzzing. But as always, they just made one too many passes, and the momentum came down. The Penguins killed the penalty, and it went back to even.
Pittsburgh led the shot totals after the first period, 12-11, but the game was scoreless after one.
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The second period was a dull one. There were not many chances on either side. It was a lot of back-and-forth rushes or constant dump-and-chase.
An early slash by Luke Glendening led to a Penguins power play a little over five minutes into the period. It was the Flyers’ penalty kill that impressed on the man-advantage, but no goal for either team.
At even strength, Matvei Michkov had a breakaway that just missed. Instead, it caught Arturs Silovs, who pushed it away. Later on that shift, Michkov almost shoved one over the goal line, but Silovs pad pinched the puck.
The Flyers were heating up toward the end of the period, but could not get the second-chance shot off after collecting the rebounds.
At the horn in the second period, the Flyers finally got one of the blatant roughing penalties by the Penguins called. Kris Letang threw a mean punch on Travis Konecny, who drew the power play, which the Flyers started the third period on.
The Flyers won the opening draw on the power play, but went back chasing in the defensive zone before they could even set up. Tyson Foerster got a good shot off, but put it right in Silovs’ chest. The rest of the power play was pretty uneventful. So, a good opportunity to find that desperately needed first goal went to waste.
The Flyers had been much better on both the forecheck and backcheck in Game 6, reminiscent of the way they were playing in Games 1, 2, and 3. Still, they were lacking the offensive element of the game. Silovs was incredible for Pittsburgh.
In the blink of an eye, a 20-minute period that started with a power play turned to just 10 minutes left in regulation, and neither team had scored. The Flyers were picking up steam as time went on, but there were some close calls in the defensive zone.