Game 1- Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Wow!!! What a first period!
The goaltending left a lot to be desired at the Penguins grabbed a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period.
Fleury seemed to get more comfortable after poke checking Umberger on a breakaway and then making a nice save on the rebound, on a shot by Lupul. This was just after Crosby tied the score at 2.
Sykora opened the scoring for the Penguins on a beautiful goal and Mike Richards then potted two to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead, with Umberger getting assists on both.
Malkin scored with 6.5 seconds remaining in the first. That has to give the Penguins a boost and really deflate the Flyers with a goal so late in the period.
Flyers outshot the Penguins 12-11 in the period with Mike Richards and R.J. Umberger leading the way with four and three shots respectively for the Flyers. Malkin had three shots on net for the Pens.
Flyers were 12 of 19 on the faceoff.
Jordan Staal is lining up against Mike Richards. Richards is plus two and Staal is minus two for the period.
Sergei Gonchar led the Penguins in ice time with 8:37 while Braydon Coburn had a whopping 9:11 for the Flyers in the first stanza.
Notes from the second period:
Pittsburgh 4 Philadelphia 2
You don't get Evgeni Malkin mad. Mike Richards took Malkin hard into the boards behind the Flyers net during a Flyers power play. The Flyers quickly broke out on a 4-on-2 and Malkin got up slowly and tried to get back. Sergei Gonchar got the puck and found Malkin by himself at the Flyers blueline. Malkin came in on a breakaway and actually took a slapshot, beating Martin Biron. Malkin looked mad after scoring the shorthanded goal, so it seems to me that had he hit Biron with the hard slapper, that would have been fine with him as well.
The Flyers outshot the Penguins 7-6 in the second and have a 19-17 lead after two.
Penguins were a lot better in the second period on the draw as they won 12 of 18, after a poor first period.
Coburn continues to lead the Flyers in ice time with 17:28 minutes through two periods, while Gonchar has 16:26 to lead the Penguins.
Notes from the third period:
No scoring so the Penguins lead the series 1-0.
Evgeni Malkin was the best player on the ice and was even in the mix when there was a scuffle with 1:28 to go in the game. He was the only Penguin to take a penalty in the skirmish as he stuck his nose in there.
Fleury was outstanding after a shaky first 13 minutes. He really gained a lot of confidence after the poke check in the first period.
The Flyers outshot the Penguins 28-21 in the game, including 9-4 in the third. Biron better bring his 'A' game on Sunday for Game 2 as he was less than stellar tonight.
Gonchar led the Penguins in ice time with 22:44 while Coburn led all skaters on both teams with 25:09 minutes. The Atlanta Thrashers made a big mistake in dealing Coburn last season and kudos to GM Paul Holmgren for stealing him for Alexei Zhitnik.
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