Rust, Penguins Rout Shorthanded Flyers

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The odds were already stacked against the Flyers entering Thursday's game. The Penguins were entering as the hottest team in the NHL with nine straight wins, no matter who was in the lineup.

With the Flyers shorthanded, it was nothing short of a blood bath. The Penguins scored three goals in the first and never looked back, handing the Flyers a 6-2 loss at Wells Fargo Center.

The first period started with some relatively even play early and the Flyers even had the game's first power play just under five minutes into the game. But after not taking advantage, the Penguins got their first chance with a power play at 11:25.

That's when the Penguins took over, getting on the board first with a power-play goal from Bryan Rust after some quick puck movement to the backdoor.

The Flyers appeared to have the game tied shortly after. Moments after the Penguins missed a wide-open net and hit the post, the Flyers came back down the ice and had a loose puck get behind Tristan Jarry and into the crease. As Joel Farabee went to knock it home, the whistle sounded and play was blown dead, leading to a massive scrum in front that produced penalties for Jarry and Scott Laughton.

Less than three minutes later, at 14:55, Rust struck again after the puck was forced loose from Egor Zamula and beat Carter Hart through the five-hole.

Just 1:21 later, the Penguins added another goal. Jake Guentzel appeared to be stopped at the side of the net, but after review it was determined the puck crossed the line, making it a 3-0 game.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 15-9 Pittsburgh.

The Flyers were out-shot in the second period, 8-6, but got the only goal. At 8:10, Cam Atkinson scored off a two-on-one for his 14th goal of the season.

That was as close as the Flyers would get. The Penguins turned it back on in the third with a couple of breakaway goals separated by 1:30.

At 8:50, Kasperi Kapanen led Evan Rodrigues with a pass and he scored on a nice move to make it 4-1. Just 90 seconds later, Guentzel scored his second goal of the night on a breakaway.

The Flyers got a power play shortly after, but the Penguins padded the lead with Brian Boyle scoring shorthanded off a rush to make it 6-1. Just 1:09 after, Oskar Lindblom scored on the power play to make it a 6-2 games.

Jarry finished with 18 saves on 20 shots in the win. Hart made 26 saves on 32 shots in the loss.

Rust and Kris Letang each finished with three points. Rodrigues, Guentzel and Sidney Crosby each had two. 

The Flyers return to the ice on Saturday to face the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PIT Bryan Rust (8) PP (Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby) 12:21
• PIT Rust (9) (Evan Rodrigues) 14:55
• PIT Jake Guentzel (17) (Letang, Crosby) 16:16

2nd Period

• PHI Cam Atkinson (14) (Joel Farabee, Scott Laughton) 8:10

3rd Period

• PIT Rodrigues (15) (Kasperi Kapanen) 8:50
• PIT Guentzel (18) (Crosby, Rust) 10:20
• PIT Brian Boyle (4) SH (John Marino) 11:51
• PHI Oskar Lindblom (4) PP (Morgan Frost, Zack MacEwen) 13:00

Game Statistics