Specials teams have been a key area to the Flyers results over the season. In the third period in Pittsburgh on Saturday, a shorthanded goal and power-play goal had the Flyers in position to grab a win on the road in comeback fashion. The Penguins tied the game in the last minute of regulation to force overtime.
That eventually led to a shootout, where once again the Flyers found the only goal necessary. Sean Couturier scored the lone shootout goal and Sam Ersson stopped all three shootout attempts in a 4-3 win over the Penguins.
Both teams skated to a scoreless first period. The Penguins had an early power-play opportunity that went by the wayside. Through 20 minutes, the Flyers had a 7-3 lead in shots.
For most of the second, neither team could find the net once again. Finally, at 14:31, a shot by Kris Letang took a fortunate bounce off a Flyers stick. Letang scored his second goal of the season as Travis Sanheim deflected the chance over Ersson to make it 1-0 Pittsburgh.
Just over two minutes later, the Flyers tied the game. Owen Tippett got a breakaway and went to the backhand to beat Tristan Jarry and make it a 1-1 game with his eighth goal of the season.
Through two periods, shots were 22-11 Flyers.
Early in the third, the Penguins grabbed the lead again. Erik Karlsson put a centering feed off the skate of Jake Guentzel and in to make it 2-1 at 1:50.
The Flyers tied the game at 7:01 with a shorthanded goal. Nick Seeler got a pass ahead to Scott Laughton, who moved in on goal and beat Jarry under the blocker arm to tie the game at two.
With 6:08 remaining in the third, the Flyers grabbed the lead for the first time in the game with a power-play goal. Tyson Foerster ripped a wrist shot from the left circle, scoring his fourth goal of the season to make it a 3-2 game.
In the final minute, the Penguins tied the game back up at three as Guentzel was able to knock home a rebound with 20.6 seconds remaining, his ninth goal of the season.
That forced overtime, where the Flyers had to fend off the Penguins power play for the final minute of the extra session.
In the shootout, Couturier scored in the second round, while Ersson made three saves to secure the win.
Ersson made 29 saves in regulation and overtime. Jarry made 31 saves on 34 shots in the loss.
Foerster had a goal and an assist for the Flyers. Guentzel and Bryan Rust each had two points.
The Flyers and Penguins meet again on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | T | |
| Flyers | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Penguins | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- No Scoring
2nd Period
- PIT Kris Letang (2) (Unassisted) 14:31
- PHI Owen Tippett (8) (Tyson Foerster) 16:47
3rd Period
- PIT Jake Guentzel (8) (Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust) 1:50
- PHI Scott Laughton (2) SH (Nick Seeler) 7:01
- PHI Foerster (4) PP (Cam York, Sean Couturier) 13:52
- PIT Guentzel (9) (Rust, Evgeni Malkin) 19:38
Overtime
- No Scoring
Shootout
- PHI Tyson Foerster – Save
- PIT Jake Guentzel – Miss
- PHI Sean Couturier – Goal
- PIT Sidney Crosby – Save
- PHI Travis Konecny – Save
- PIT Bryan Rust – Save
Game Statistics
| Flyers | Penguins | |
| Shots | 34 | 32 |
| Power Play | 1/4 | 0/5 |
| Hits | 31 | 23 |
| Faceoff % | 38% | 62% |
| Giveaways | 4 | 16 |
| Takeaways | 11 | 12 |
| Blocked Shots | 26 | 11 |
| Penalty Minutes | 10 | 8 |
