Flyers Stun Penguins in Game 2 For Commanding Series Lead
The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Monday in Game 2 of their opening round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A chippy playoff affair…
The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Monday in Game 2 of their opening round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A chippy playoff affair ignited the home crowd with physical intensity at both ends, scrums after every whistle, and no love lost between the cross-state rivals.
The red hot Flyers finished the regular season on an 18-7-1 tear after the Olympic break, and they've ridden momentum to a 2-0 series lead to begin the postseason.
Flyers Stifle Penguins in Game 2
The Penguins controlled the pace with better puck possession and offensive zone time before the midway point of the contest. While the Flyers couldn't generate many scoring chances of their own, they stifled Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the high-powered Pittsburgh attack by shielding the front of their net.
Dan Vladar, meanwhile steadily handled everything the Penguins threw at him in his second career playoff start.
When the Penguins intensified their offensive push as the second period wore on, Garnet Hathaway flipped the momentum with a great hustle play to cancel an icing call. The Flyers maintained possession in the offensive zone, and Porter Martone fired home a rebound goal for his second of the playoffs in as many games.
Owen Tippett made the most memorable play Game 2 while the Flyers were shorthanded just over four minutes later. The stocky power forward pushed around Pittsburgh defenders to steal control of the puck - despite dropping to one knee - and sent a perfect pass to a wide-open Hathaway for a 2-0 lead.
The Penguins controlled the pace of the third period with an advantage in scoring chances, offensive zone time, and shots on goal. However, Vladar stood tall in his most impressive sequence of the series.
The Flyers goaltender stopped high-danger chances from the slot early in the period. He benefitted from sliding penalty killers desperately blocking lanes, a misfire by Pittsburgh Ben Kindel at a wide-open net, and a diving play by Nick Seeler. Despite playing in their own end for most of Game 2, the Flyers held off the Penguins.
Vladar stopped all 27 shots he faced in his first career playoff shutout and first overall shutout with the Flyers. Luke Glendening added an empty-net goal in the final minutes to make it 3-0.
Back to Philadelphia
The Flyers will return home to face the Penguins in Game 3 on Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm and Game 4 on Saturday, April 25 at 8pm.
While long-time listeners know where to tune their radios to hear Tim Saunders and Todd Fedoruk, they also have the option to stream live on 975thefanatic.com and the 97.5 The Fanatic App. Even Alexa will turn on the Flyers with a simple "Play 97.5 The Fanatic" command.
If you're looking for pregame chatter, Bill Colarulo and Ricky Bottalico have spearheaded the Flyers talk on Unfiltered from 2pm-6pm on weekdays. Jason Myrtetus and Brian Smith anchor the pregame, intermission, and postgame coverage with appearances from former Flyers defenseman Chris Therien.
Follow live sights and sounds from Flyers games at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Instagram, Twitter/X, BlueSky, and Facebook.
