Pigeon Coop Postgame: Flyers Blown Out By Penguins Offense

October 29th: Penguins 7/Flyers 1

The Flyers fell to the Penguins in the first edition of the Battle of Pennsylvania in the 2019-20 season by a score of 7 to 1. Brian Elliott started in net for the Flyers, while Matt Murray got the go between the pipes for the Penguins. The Penguins’ offense came out strong from the get-go and took advantage of another weak defensive performance from the Flyers.

The Penguins’ first goal came from Justin Schultz at 14:03 to put the Pens up 1-0. Shortly thereafter, Jared McCann took advantage of a Flyers’ turnover to make it 2-0; thirty seconds later, Dominik Simon added a third goal to the Penguins’ lead, 3-0. With just under six minutes in the first period, Sidney Crosby made it 4-0, with a beautiful goal from a sharp angle. The first period was all Penguins, and the Flyers headed into the intermission down by four goals.

There was not much action in the second period, however the Penguins’ offense did not let up. With three minutes left, Jake Guentzel made it 5-0. Only twenty seconds later, Jack Johnson also scored, putting the Penguins up 6-0. This would be the only action of the second period, and the last of the game that Elliott would play. Elliott allowed six goals on 28 shots.

Carter Hart started the third period in net for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom put the Flyers on the board only two minutes into the third. His goal was his sixth of the year, with Sean Couturier and Shayne Gostisbehere earning assists. With 6 seconds left in the game, Dominik Kahun finished off the Penguins’ scoring to put one passed Hart, making the final score 7-1.

Cage Cleaning

• Travis Sanheim has been ultimately disappointing thus far. Against the Penguins, he was a minus-4, and has been making several turnovers that led to opponents’ goals. Many fans are looking for him to be a healthy scratch in the near future. Something needs to switch for Sanheim, possibly a new defense partner.
• On a positive note, Oskar Lindblom has stuck out in a positive way this season. Lindblom’s goal against the Penguins was his sixth of the year, tying him for team-leader in goals with Travis Konecny. He currently has 8 points (6 G, 2 A) in his first 11 games.

• Another positive note from this game, was the Flyers’ Penalty Kill. They killed off all three Penguins’ Power Plays, keeping up the momentum of their 9th ranked PK in the NHL. The Flyers’ special teams have been rather impressive, with their Power Play also ranking as 5th in the NHL. They were unsuccessful on all of their attempts against the Penguins, as their road PP is much less successful than their home PP.