Flyers – Penguins: Claude Comeback | GAME RECAP

Amy Johnson

March 4, 2021

Flyers – Penguins: Claude Comeback | GAME RECAP

Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Game Recap: Line-up, Score, Game Report, Statistics, Highlights, Three Stars, Rocket Sports Media

FINAL | Game 20, Away Game 10 | Thursday, March 4, 2021

PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

FLYERS

Philadelphia

4-3

PENGUINS

Pittsburgh

Flyers Lineup

Forward lines

James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier – Jakub Voracek

Scott Laughton – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny

Oskar Lindblom – Claude Giroux – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Connor Bunnaman – Nolan Patrick – Michael Raffl

Defense pairings

Ivan Provorov – Justin Braun

Travis Sanheim – Philippe Myers

Robert Hägg – Shayne Gostisbehere

Goaltenders

Brian Elliott – Carter Hart

Scratches

Erik Gustafsson, Joel Farabee (COVID-19 reserve)

Injuries

Morgan Frost (dislocated shoulder)

Game Report

After dropping Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh, the Flyers needed to get back in the win column in the “middle frame” of this three-game series in the Penguins’ barn. Sidney Crosby was back in the Pens lineup, having come off the COVID-19 reserve list earlier in the day, but Joel Farabee was added to the list for Philadelphia.

First Period

Things went off the rails quickly for the Flyers. After Brian Elliott came up with a big save seconds after the opening faceoff, the Penguins put up three goals in the course of one minute and 11 seconds.

First, Kris Letang‘s point shot deflected off of Travis Sanheim‘s glove. Then former Flyer Mark Friedman scored his first career NHL goal when Claude Giroux batted the puck into the slot and the defenseman shot it through Elliott down low. Finally, Jared McCann batted the bouncing puck as he was sliding past Elliott’s net.

Alain Vigneault called an immediate timeout to reset his team and remind them there was plenty of time left to regroup. Before the period ended, Sean Couturier extended his point streak to a career-high eight games when he finished off a pass from Travis Konecny to put the Flyers on the board.

Second Period

The middle frame was a bit more tightly played, but Giroux managed to find the back of the net for just the second time this season when he buried a rebound in close off of Oskar Lindblom‘s attempt on the other side of the crease.

Third Period

Scott Laughton kept the scoring alive for Philadelphia when a puck deflected off of his body off of a big shot by Giroux to pull the Flyers even at 3-3 with the Penguins. With momentum firmly on their side, the captain scored again when he tapped the puck across the goal line off of Nicolas Aube-Kubel‘s shot. Philly hung on and completed the comeback to defeat the Penguins 4-3.

What’s Next?

It was a shining performance for the captain, playing at center for the first time in a while due to Farabee being out of the lineup. Could that be something we see again on Saturday? It certainly seemed to work tonight.

Plus / Minus

▲ Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, Oskar Lindblom

▼ Nolan Patrick

The Numbers

Game Statistics
FLYERS		PENGUINS
35	Shots	29
50%	Face-off %	50%
1 for 2	Power Play	0 for 2
4	Penalty Minutes	4
42	Hits	38

Scoring Summary

FINAL	1	2	3	OT	SO	T
Flyers (12-5-3)	1	1	2	–	–	4
Penguins (12-9-1)	3	0	0	–	–	3

Scorers	Goalies
PHI: Couturier (6), Giroux (2), Laughton (6), Giroux (3) PIT: Letang (5), Friedman (1), McCann (4)	PHI: Elliott (W) 6-1-0 PIT: Jarry (L) 8-7-1

Stars of the Game

NHL Official Three Stars
	Claude Giroux PHI Nicolas Aube-Kubel PHI Jared McCann PIT

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Alain Vigneault: “Play the right way. One shift at a time. We were able to dig our way out of a hole. It was a big character win.”

Scott Laughton on Claude Giroux: “He’s our captain. He’s our leader. He brings us into the fight.”

Sean Couturier: “We just needed to refocus and get back to our good habits. There was no panic. We were under control and we responded really well.”

Quotes courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers

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