Flyers Begin the Bubble With a Win

Hockey is back! The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 28th as hockey returned for exhibition games in Toronto, Canada with a final score of 3-2.

The first period started off strong with both teams moving to create a fast-paced start to the return of ice hockey and the first exhibition game for the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins got a couple of shots off quickly to begin the period, but the Flyers were able to hold their own for the first five minutes of the game. 

At the five minute and six-second mark, the Penguins scored the first goal with Coner Sheary beating Carter Hart with a shot to the top corner of the goal. After that, Pittsburgh was able to spend some significant time in the Flyers zone but were not able to generate any more goals, despite the applied pressure. 

Then it seemed to shift on the ice, as the orange and black were able to create some pressure and continue to outshoot their state rival. There was a delayed penalty for Pittsburgh, where Hart went to the Flyers bench, but it was canceled as Sean Couturier scored at the eight-minute and 28-second mark. The game was tied at one. 

Pittsburgh then went on the powerplay, where they spent the majority of the two minute minor in the Philadelphia zone. There was a close shot on goal, but Hart was able to stop it from entering the net. The Flyers effectively killed the penalty.

With less than thirty seconds left in the period, Kevin Hayes puts the Flyers ahead by scoring, making it 2-1. 

The second period was a strong 20 minutes for the orange and black. From the beginning to the end, the Flyers made sure the Penguins were on the defense and in their own zone. There were a couple of small battles for the puck on the boards three minutes in offsides on the Flyers line. Michael Raffl had a good play and almost scored, but the Flyers could not recover to score. 

There were a few minutes of back and forth, then Claude Giroux got put into the penalty box for tripping. Pittsburgh had a couple good setups to score, but there was no luck as Philadelphia’s penalty kill held up during the four-month break. 

As the period finished, the pace quickened once again, with an attempt on goal by Hayes on Murrey. Murrey was then pulled and Philadelphia immediately went on the power play. The orange and black had a good pace throughout the two minutes with Hayes getting a shot off the post. They were also able to stop Sidney Crosby from an attempt on goal. 

As the period finished, Hayes and Crosby battled it out on the boards, with Hayes keeping Crosby from getting close to the net. 

The third period started with a Philadelphia goalie change from Hart to Brian Elliott. There was a consistent pace that matched the first 40 minutes of the game. At the beginning of the period, there was a delayed penalty on Jake Voracek for high sticking. Immediately, Evgeni Malkin got a shot on goal, but Elliott was ready and stopped it. 

Pittsburgh stepped up a little on their power play, but Philadelphia had the better penalty kill. After the power play finished, the Flyers settled down the energy on the ice, but Elliott had to make another save as Malkin was at the Flyers net once again. 

The speed of the game continued to be strong as the Flyers kept the Penguins at bay. Towards the end of the period, Jason Zucker tied the game at two, with a little chip play in the middle. Elliott was unable to stop it as it rebounded.

With the game tied at two, overtime occurred. Elliott stepped up again, with another great save in the first couple minutes and Hayes had a breakaway that almost finished the way he wanted it too. Scott Laughton ended the overtime period by scoring; making the final score 3 – 2. 

3 stars of the game 

• Carter Hart was good in the first two periods, making good stops to keep the Penguins at bay and only letting in one goal. 
• Brian Elliott continued to look as sharp as he did in training camp, making a couple difficult stops with Malkin. 
• Kevin Hayes was on fire both on the Flyers Penalty Kill and being all over the ice.