Sidney Crosby scored with under three minutes to play in regulation to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead in their 4-1 win over the Flyers.
For 56 minutes, it was actually a close game. For one shift in a dominant third period, the Flyers got caught in their own zone. That led to a goal that would ice the game.
The Flyers were also turned away by Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins defense, as Fleury was up to the task on 24 of 25 Flyers shots. The Penguins also blocked 20 shots and forced many more to miss the net completely.
Fleury's goaltending and goals by Jussi Jokinen and Sidney Crosby proved to be the difference in a 4-1 Penguins win over the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
A fairly even first period saw the Flyers and Pens play to a scoreless tie. The Penguins had two full power plays in the first five minutes of the game and another to close the period, helping them out-shoot the Flyers, 12-8.
The Penguins controlled the second period, leading the shot totals for the period, 17-5. They also netted a pair of goals. Jokinen fired a shot past Steve Mason. Chris Kunitz also buried a rebound.
The Flyers did manage an answer on the power play. In the closing seconds of the second, Wayne Simmonds deflected a Claude Giroux shot past Fleury to cut the lead to one with just two seconds remaining in the second.
That goal helped spark a strong third period for the Flyers. In out-shooting the Penguins, 12-6, in the final 20 minutes, the Flyers generated some strong scoring chances in a pair of early power plays. However, they failed to beat Fleury.
The Penguins would ice the game in the final minutes. With under three minutes to play, a defensive breakdown led to an easy pass from Pascal Dupuis to Crosby for a tip-in goal. With 13 seconds left, Evgeni Malkin scored an empty-net goal to cap the scoring.
The Flyers early-season slide continued as they fell to 1-7-0 through eight games of the season. They now have a week off before hosting the New York Rangers next Thursday.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Flyerdelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
