PHILADELPHIA – For the last time during the regular season, the Penguins are coming home.
A brief road trip through Detroit and Philadelphia presented a prime opportunity to rack up badly needed points against basement dwellers. A couple wins would have gone a long way toward securing third place in the Metropolitan Division and creating some separation in the standings from the Washington Capitals.
But after throttling the Red Wings in Motor City, the Penguins stalled out in Philadelphia during a 4-1 loss that exposed inconsistencies that have plagued the club throughout the season.
Third goalie Louis Domingue was solid enough, allowing three goals, but not necessarily spectacular. The bigger issue was the lack of run support in front of him and the breakdowns that led to goals. The Penguins failed to score until Sidney Crosby netted a goal with Domingue pulled for an extra attacker.
The Penguins now have 101 points with two games remaining. The Capitals have 99 with four games left, including one on Sunday night against the Leafs.
Yes, the Flyers are a rival with a proud group of young players trying to establish themselves. They are also a team in disarray with the NHL’s fourth-worst record.
In January, former captain Claude Giroux said the Flyers had hit “rock bottom.” And that was before he got dealt and many other prominent players got injured, including goaltender Carter Hart, defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam York, Kevin Connauton, Nick Seeler and forwards Cam Atkinson, Patrick Brown, Sean Couturier.
Taken together, the two games are like a microcosm of the Penguins’ up-and-down season. At times this year, the Penguins have looked like a legit Cup contender with elite goaltending, two dangerous special teams units and four centers capable of creating a team that rolls lines.
At other points? They’ve lost their mojo without notice, like the NBA stars in "Space Jam" when the Monstars steal their powers.
Through the first six weeks of the season, the Penguins sat in second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were recovering from offseason surgeries and the first wave of COVID-19 swept through the dressing room. Missing the playoffs for the first time since Crosby’s rookie year appeared to be a real possibility.
However, the season seesawed the opposite direction in mid-November. When Crosby and coach Mike Sullivan returned from COVID, the Penguins became one of the NHL’s hottest teams. From Nov. 18 through Jan. 25, they rolled to a 22-4-1 record. That stretch included a ridiculous 17-2 run.
From there, wins and losses have come in bunches. Four losses in a row. Four wins. Three losses in a row. The three wins. Back and forth. Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong.
Since winning three in a row on March 17, 19, 22, the Penguins have struggled to string together consistent performances. Including Sunday’s loss, they’re just 6-8-2 since March 23.
On Sunday, the Flyers broke the ice with less than five minutes remaining in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. After an Evgeni Malkin turnover kept the play alive in the Philadelphia offensive zone, the Flyers put a flurry of shots on net in short succession. Domingue saved an initial shot from the point. Then, he tried to freeze the puck with his glove on a second chance.
However, the puck squirted to the slot, where Domingue made a fantastic pad save on Owen Tippett. But the rebound ricocheted right to the doorstep, where Morgan Frost made it 1-0.
Less than seven minutes into the second period, the Flyers extended their lead to 2-0. Keith Yandle’s shot from the point floated through traffic. Noah Cates made a great play to redirect it past Domingue.
Midway through the third, the Flyers essentially put the game away on the power play. Ivan Provorov’s shot from the point changed directions off Brian Boyle’s stick. Then, Cates was in front to redirect it for his second goal of the game.
By the time Crosby scored with 3:33 left and Dominigue pulled for an extra attacker, it was too little, too late. The Flyers hit the empty net seconds later to make it 4-1.
The Penguins now have just two games remaining in the regular season.
