Penguins Fall To Division Rival Flyers, 3-1
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Nov 7, 11:22 PM | Hype this story!
After an impressive eight consecutive wins against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins bowed to their cross-state rivals, losing the first of eight contests this season.
While the Penguins failed to score on seven power play opportunities, the Flyers made the best of their 20 shots, leading them to a 3-1 victory at Mellon Arena.
Penguins goalie Dany Sabourin, making his second consecutive start after shutting out the Devils Monday night, appeared shaky, at best. He made 17 saves in a losing effort. Martin Biron made 26 saves to earn his eighth win of the season.
The Penguins will try to redeem themselves tomorrow night against the New York Rangers as they continue their stretch of divisional match ups.
Three Stars
3. Joffrey Lupul, RW, Phi: 1 goal
2. Jeff Carter, C, Phi: 1 goal (GWG)
1. Martin Biron, G, Phi: 26 saves, .963 save percentage
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Goal | Assist | Assist |
| 1 | 0:28 5:33 19:23 |
Phi Phi Pit |
Lupul Carter Malone |
Briere Hartnell Crosby |
Umberger Upshall Malkin |
| 2 | 8:46 | Phi | Richards | Smith | Coburn |
| 3 | |||||
| Penalty Summary | ||||
| Per. | Time | Team | Player | Penalty |
| 1 | 6:27 6:27 6:27 13:32 |
Phi Pit Phi Phi |
Smith Orpik Coburn Lupul |
Roughing – 2:00 Roughing – 2:00 Holding – 2:00 Hooking – 2:00 |
| 2 | 0:40 0:40 11:13 11:57 15:12 17:53 |
Phi Pit Pit Phi Phi Pit |
Umberger Orpik Scuderi Knuble Timonen Orpik |
Fighting – 5:00 Fighting – 5:00 Interference – 5:00 Interference – 5:00 Holding – 2:00 Tripping – 2:00 |
| 3 | 7:14 10:05 11:40 18:33 |
Phi Phi Pit Phi |
Knuble Briere Recchi Coburn |
Slashing – 2:00 Holding – 2:00 Boarding – 2:00 Tripping – 2:00 |
| Stat Line | |||||||||
| Team | Shots | Faceoffs | Power Plays | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Total | Won | Lost | Total | Converted | |
| Pittsburgh | 9 | 10 | 3 | 27 | 24 | 26 | 7 | 0 | |
| Philadelphia | 9 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 26 | 24 | 3 | 0 | |
Comments
Ben
Nov 7, 11:38 PM
Two things of note:
1) The officiating was awful, it just happened to mostly go in the Pens favor this time. It didn’t help.
2) The shot totals make it seem like the Pens were in this game. It’s misleading. The team looked completely flat. They played like it was a real game for maybe a grand total of 10 minutes over the course of the entire game. The team didn’t look like it wanted to win. Against the Flyers in particular, this is inexcusable.
I will give credit to the Flyers, though: Biron played really well, and the Flyers did a decent (though not really spectacular) job of playing defense. But we’ll never know how the Pens could have done in this game, since they basically didn’t show up to play.
I hope I’m just coming up with conspiracy theories here, but after the various reports that came out, it almost feels like the game against the Devils was the players trying to show Shero that the players can win, without needing to trade any players, while this game was to demonstrate that they’re giving up on Therrien. I really hope I’m wrong… (not because I have any particular love of Therrien, but because a coaching change mid-season, with its accompanying change in systems, could throw the team into chaos for a bit).
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 8, 12:09 AM
Ben, thanks for the comments! Glad to see you stop by after the games.
I’m going to be honest — I saw very little of tonight’s game, as I didn’t leave work until 8ish, and then found myself in the middle of various other things for the next hour or so. But from what I saw, the team played a disappointing game — especially, as you said, considering the the team they were playing and the rivalry that should enhance the effort.
I’m not so sure how realistic it is to get into conspiracy theories. The players want to win. If they’re willing to “tank” a game to prove a point, I’m not so sure how much respect I would have for the players — and I certainly would lose a lot of respect for Crosby, the team captain whom I hold on a very high pedestal.
I truly believe something is going on in that locker room. Maybe some of the players are becoming fed up with Therrien and his ways. Maybe Shero is too. That’s fine. But to deliberately blow a game, that’s poor taste and poor sportsmanship.
But with each passing game, I become more and more convinced that something needs to be done. It could be as simple as Therrien going all Herb Brooks on the team. A minor (or major) trade may also do the trick. And, quite frankly, a coaching change may also be a possibility, though it should be a last-ditch effort during the season.
Whatever happens, this team needs to realize hockey games last 60 minutes, and they need to build consistency from game to game.
Ashley Gallant
Nov 8, 01:24 AM
I was so disappointed tonight. So disappointed, in fact, that I spent half of the time doing homework, of all things. How sad is that…
It was just a sloppy effort where the Flyers showed up to play and win while the Pens just didn’t care. I don’t know, maybe the road trip made them a bit tired, but it won’t be getting any better for awhile.
That being said, I can’t believe in any conspiracy theories either. Whatever their problems are, I seriously doubt they’re losing games on purpose. I just don’t see it.
I hope the guys get it together and start stringing something together soon. The game in New Jersey sounded amazing, but what good is it if that kind of showing only happens once every 15 games? It means nothing.
Luke
Nov 8, 02:14 AM
This whole season they seem to be teasing us playing good at time and playing rotten at others. Its like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde out there like who are you gonna get when? You never know with this team this year and its kinda sad…
DaBich
Nov 8, 07:53 AM
I was wishing MT would yank Sabourin after he allowed the first two goals…oh well…
I’m hoping the Penguins show up tonight…cuz they surely didn’t agaisnt the Flyers.
Ben
Nov 8, 11:03 AM
I don’t really believe my little conspiracy theory. It was something that came to mind when I saw the stark contrast between how the team played against the Devils, and how they played against the Flyers. The Flyers, of all teams! This is the team that, in the last two seasons, would always get a fired up Penguins. For some reason, last night, the Penguins didn’t look like they wanted to win. I don’t think they were deliberately trying to lose, but they definitely didn’t look like they wanted to win.
On the positive side, I do think Malone, Orpik and Kennedy all seem to be trying to prove that they deserve to stay on the team. They were the only players I really felt like they showed up intending to win. What’s really surprising is that neither Crosby nor Malkin really seemed like they were trying all that hard.
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 8, 12:39 PM
There are no excuses for the inconsistency of this team. It must change — and fast. It’s not time to panic at all, but it is time to start making some changes to fix the problems. As I said above — a change may be as simple as forcing the team through some intense practices to prove a point.
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