Tyler Kennedy may have missed the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 11th straight victory, but he was determined to make an impact in Pittsburgh’s 12th straight.
Kennedy scored 2:33 into overtime to lift the Penguins over the Flyers 2-1, Sunday night at Consol Energy Center. After sitting out one game with an illness, Kennedy returned to the lineup.
The Penguins were able to erase a 1-0 deficit with a power play goal late in the third period, setting up for Tyler Kennedy’s heroics in overtime.
Ilya Bryzgalov stopped the first 30 shots the Penguins threw on net and looked extremely sharp for the first 53 minutes of the game before Sidney Crosby capitalized on a 5 on 3 power play opportunity late in the third. Marc-Andre Fleury was equally as good throughout the game allowing the Penguins to storm back and further bury the Flyers in the Eastern Conference standings.
Neither team was able to break a scoreless tie through the first period. The Penguins had a 2 on 1 opportunity with Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis but Ilya Bryzgalov made a nice glove save on Dupuis’s wrist shot.
Late in the second period the Flyers went on the power play after Paul Martin took a slashing penalty. Claude Giroux entered the offensive zone and attempted a pass to Simon Gagne. The play was broken up by Tanner Glass but the puck came back to Giroux who fired a wrist shot from the high slot to beat Fleury’s right pad as he was shifting across the crease.
The Penguins started pouring on the shots after the goal but Bryzgalov was there every step of the way. Sidney Crosby’s shot created a big rebound for Dupuis but the puck was shot wide. Moments later, Dupuis had another scoring chance off the rush but the puck was snared by the net minder a second time.
Philadelphia looked well on their way towards shutting out the Penguins and ending the winning streak. But Wayne Simmonds and Kimmo Timonen took penalties 23 second apart giving Pittsburgh a two man advantage. After Simmonds was called for slashing the stick out of Brooks Orpik’s hands, Timonen hauled down Chris Kunitz on a partial breakaway. Paul Martin, positioned at the point, setup Sidney Crosby for a one timer that beat Bryzgalov on the five-hole.
The Flyers sustained pressure in the final minutes of the third period but were unable to score, sending the game into overtime.
The aggressive offensive play picked up in overtime for Philadelphia thanks in large part to Wayne Simmonds. As the Penguins started their counterattack, Simmonds was unable to get off the ice and was gassed. That allowed the Penguins to setup Tyler Kennedy for the game-winner.
Kennedy took the puck at the left face off dot, paused, and fired a blistering wrist shot that hit the backbar and came out for the overtime goal.
- Three of Kennedy’s five goals this season have come against the Flyers.
- The Penguins have won the season series against the Flyers for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.
- Pascal Dupuis left the game at the end of the third period after taking a hit into the boards by Braydon Coburn.
Three Stars
- Tyler Kennedy
- Marc-Andre Fleury
- Ilya Bryzgalov
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
