Flyers Head to Break with Shutout Win Over Penguins

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The difference between the Flyers play at home versus on the road has certainly been noticeable. In October, the Flyers looked completely outmatched against the Penguins, falling behind 4-0 in the first on the way to a 7-1 loss.

This time, the Penguins came up short of the touchdown. Instead of a dominating game from Pittsburgh, the Flyers stymied the Penguins in a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers generated some good scoring chances early, but nothing that was able to solve Tristan Jarry. The Penguins came the closest to getting a goal with a scoring chance going off the stick of Andrew Agozzino and off the post before landing next to Brian Elliott. 

Late in the period, the Penguins got the first power play of the game, but the Flyers didn't allow a shot for the remainder of the period. Through 20 minutes, the Flyers held the 12-8 lead in shots.

The Flyers killed off the remainder of the penalty to start the second and continued to generate chances. Finally, Jake Voracek broke the ice at 5:26.

Voracek took a centering pass from Sean Couturier and cut in on goal, going to the backhand to beat Jarry and give the Flyers the 1-0 lead with his 10th goal of the season.

Both teams traded power-play opportunities with the Flyers getting 13 seconds of 5-on-3 time, but the score remained 1-0 into the final minutes of the period.

With just 1:20 to go in the period, a set-up from the Flyers All-Star extended the lead. Travis Konecny got the puck on the right wing and centered for James van Riemsdyk, who put the puck under Jarry and in to make it 2-0 with his 14th goal of the season.

Through 40 minutes, the Flyers had a 22-16 lead in shots.

The Penguins certainly applied additional pressure in the third, having more possession time in the Flyers. The Flyers dodged another bullet when a shot hit the post and Sidney Crosby couldn't get to the rebound behind Elliott before Kevin Hayes cleared the puck away. 

The Flyers iced the game with a long empty-net goal by Justin Braun with one minute remaining. Elliott sealed the shutout for the Flyers, making 19 saves for his first of the season. The Flyers entered the All-Star break and bye week with wins in five of their last seven games.

The Flyers will return with another meeting against the Penguins, this time on the road, next Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• No Scoring

2nd Period

• PHI Jake Voracek (10) (Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee) 5:26
• PHI James van Riemsdyk (14) (Travis Konecny, Claude Giroux) 18:40

3rd Period

• PHI Justin Braun (3) EN (Unassisted) 19:00

Game Statistics