Old-fashioned Donnybrook: Giroux’s OT winner caps fight-filled contest

It was a game that had a little bit of everything and then some, but at the end, it was the Orange and Black in the right place at the right time.

A fight-filled second period set the stage for an exciting third period, which led to overtime. On the Flyers second power-play chance of overtime, they finally ended it.

A loose puck sat in the crease off a Jake Voracek shot. That's where Claude Giroux found it and put it in the back of the net for the game-winning goal in a 3-2 Flyers win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

Pittsburgh dominated the first period, opening with the game's first 13 shots, helped in part by a power play on a Zac Rinaldo cross-checking penalty.

The Flyers would get on the board first, however, on their second shot of the game, a wrist shot through a screen by Luke Schenn at 13:11. It was Schenn's second goal of the season. 

Rinaldo helped aid the Penguin dominance in the first period further by taking a five-minute boarding penalty for a hit on Kris Letang. Rinaldo also got a game misconduct for the hit. But the Flyers killed the first 4:24 of the five-minute Pittsburgh power play as the period came to a close.

In the first period, the Penguins out-shot the Flyers, 17-3. 

The Flyers evened out the competition in the second, out-shooting the Penguins, 14-9, in the period.

But the Penguins would score the only goal of the period as Chris Kunitz buried a short-handed chance on a 2-on-1 to even the score.

Despite just two goals being scored between the two teams in the first two periods, it was an action-packed game to that point. Four fights occurred in the second period.

Michael Raffl dropped the gloves with Zach Sill at 1:55. Voracek fought Rob Scuderi at 8:01. Luke Schenn and Steve Downie squared off less than two minutes later. And Pierre-Edouard Bellemare closed a scrappy second period fighting Bobby Farnham. In total, 66 penalty minutes were dished out between the two teams in the period.

The Penguins jumped on the board early in the third. A 2-on-1 led by Evgeni Malkin turned into a goal as Malkin put the breaks on and found Beau Bennett wide open at the side of the net. 

The Flyers would answer quickly as Chris VandeVelde tipped a shot by Michael Del Zotto past Thomas Greiss to even the score just two minutes later.

The game would go to overtime and the Flyers started the extra session with a power play. The Flyers could not cash in on the initial try, but the Penguins would get called for too many men on the ice just seconds after the power play expired.

It appeared the Flyers would waste this chance as well, before a golden chance presented itself. A shot by Voracek was stopped by Greiss, but he couldn't handle it. The puck fell in the crease, where Giroux found it and buried it for the game-winner at 3:58 of overtime.

Ray Emery made 33 saves in the win. The Flyers penalty kill was 6-for-6. No player on either team recorded multiple points.

The Flyers return to action following the All-Star break this weekend, facing the Arizona Coyotes at home next Tuesday. The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.