Flyers at Penguins - 12-29-11

-Matt Niskanen is tonight's coverboy for IceTime:

12:31: Fleury came to play tonight. Carle chops a slapper from the left point. It hits off Read in the slot and deflects on net. Fleury fends that off. Hartnell is there for the rebound but Fleury's right leg kicks it out.

11:04: Malkin taps a pass from behind the net

10:59: During a stoppage, a five on five scrum breaks out in front of the Flyers' bench. Malkin and Hartenll are right in the middle of it. Neal is called for tripping Read in the left wing corner of the Flyers zone. He slew footed him badly. It could merit a fine. He could end up getting fined for that one. Adams, Dupuis, Michalek and Orpik take the ice.

10:04: Game on. Wayne Simmond digs a puck out of a pile up in the right wing corner and feeds it to Giroux in the left wing corner. Giroux distributes it to Timonen at the left point. Timonen snipes a shot to the far side by Fleury's glove hand. Can't let the Flyers get too many power-play chances. Giroux and Simmonds get assists. Flyers 1, Penguins 1.

9:10: Steve Sullivan backhand taps a pass from behind the net to the front of the crease. Asham is there and chops, chops, chops at the shot as Bobrovsky covers it up. Talbot jumps on Asham to prevent further shots.

8:40: Asham slams Marc-Andre Bourdon with a solid hit in front of the Flyers' penalty box.

8:07: WOW. Malkin roars in off the right wing, draws a hook from Coburn, cuts across the slot and deals apss to Kunits to the left of the crease. Bobrovsky fights off the shot but is badly out of position for the rebound. Neal is there for the puck and the wide open net but whiffs, partially due to a stick check by Jagr. What a play by Jagr. Coburns is sent off for hooking. Simon Despres, Justin Williams, Cooke, Kennedy and Staal take the ice.

6:07: Just as the power play expires, Despres snaps off a wrister from the right point. Bobrovsky gloves it.

5:34: Orpik takes a drop pass at the left point and rips a wrister on net. Bobrovsky fends it off.

4:35: Cooke is dumped in the Flyers' slot by Hartnell. No call.

4:04: Talbot and Neal have a little bit of a shoving match after a whistle. Michalek is called for elbowing against xxx.  Staal, Cooke, Ben Lovejoy and Orpik take the ice.

3:28: Simmonds tries to re-direct a backhander by Fleury in tight. No dice.

2:56: Jakub Voracek chops a one-timer from the left circle. Fleury kicks it out. Adams appears to clip Voracek in the face with a high stick. Voracek tumbles holding his face. No call.

2:01: Just as Michalek minor expires. Hartnell taps a feed from the left wing to the slot. Read is there. He attacks with a backhander but before he can pull the trigger, Fleury snaps out a poke check and prevents the shot. What a play. After a whistle, Michalek taps Malkin on the pads.

1:32: Talbot chucks a wrister from the right wing. Fleury fends it off.

0:00: End of period. Flyers 1, Penguins 1.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was pretty fun. The first 20 minutes of this game lived up to its billing. There was skating, shooting, hitting and goaltending. Regardless of who you root for, you had to be entertained.

-News flash. Jagr's good. He still has it. He's a force in all three zones thus far tonight.

-Fleury stepped up in a big way. The Flyers had the majority of the quality scoring chance tonight and he was nearly perfect on all of them.

-His counterpart, Bobrovsky, has been a tad shaky.

-Talbot is still Talbot. A solid third line player who contributes in various ways.

-Malkin, Neal and Chris Kunitz are flying around like they're going to do some damage tonight.

-Ditto, Giroux, Hartnell and Jagr. You have to hold your breath everytime they rush up ice.

-The Penguins' power play has been bad tonight.

-The Penguins have an 11-9 edge in shots.

-Niskanen leads the game with three shots.

-Giroux leads the Flyers with two.

-Orpik lead sthe game with 8:37 of ice time.

-Giroux leads the Flyers with 8:13.

-The Penguins control faceoffs, 15-7 (68 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 4 for 5 (80 percent).

-Schenn is 2 for 3 (67 percent).

-No one has more than one blocked shot.

-Long-time EN reader Chuck Hull could not be at the game tonight, but asked for his jersey foul to be included in the blog:

 

9:25: Meszaros chips a little wrister from the right point. Michalek blocks it.

9:11: Kennedy sneaks up the right wing and rips a wrister on net from the right circle. Bobrovsky fends it off. Dupuis hacks the rebound on net. Bobrovsky eats that up.

8:32: Orpik and Jagr battle for a puck in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone. Orpik sticks him on his hip.

7:37: Neal forces a turnover by the Flyers in their own zone, spins and deals a pass to Malkin in the right circle. Malkin snaps off a wrister to the far side. Bobrovsky gloves it.

7:19: Attendance is announced as 18,602. It is the team's 227th consecutive sellout.

6:41: Neal is running around hitting anything in the Flyers' zone wearing white. He smacks Bourdon in the left wing corner and Schenn on the right wing wall.

5:26: From the right circle, Jagr snaps off  pass to Giroux in the left circle. Giroux hesitates then snaps off a wrister which Fleury appears to deflects out of play.

4:14: Coburn hugs Cooke into the boards in the left wing corner of the Flyers zone then kind of drops him to thiece.

3:49: Sean Couturier chugs up the right wing, gets a step on Picard and taps a backhnder into the crease. Fleury kicks it out but Read is a step faster than Niskanen and chops it by Fleury's right leg. Niskanen's brutal night continues. Couturier and Voracek get assists. Flyers 3-1.

1:08: Niskanen rattles Talbot in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone.

0:09: Bourdon chucks a wrister from the top of the slot at the cage. It hits something in front.

0:00: End of period. Flyers 3, Penguins 1.

SECOND PERIOD

-Jagr made this place roar in the first period. And he shut it up in the second period. His goal just shifted the momentum totally in the Flyers' favor.

-The Penguins almost seemed timid that period. They were chasing the Flyers around their own zone quite a bit. Philadelphia dominated puck possession that 20 minutes.

-Hartnell-Giroux-Jagr has outpreformed Kunitz-Malkin-Neal tonight. The Flyers' top line has been a threat almost every time it took the ice. The Penguins' top trio tailed off in the second period after a strong first.

-The Penguins have a 19-15 lead in shots.

-Kennedy leads the game with four shots.

-Giroux leads the Flyers with three.

-Orpik leads the game wth 16:23 of ice time.

-Carle leads the Flyers with 15:05.

-The Penguins are dominating faceoffs, 27-11 (71 percent).

-Staal is 10 for 14 (71 percent).

-Schenn is 3 for 6 (50 percent).

-Giroux, who was shown chirping about his faceoffs last night on "24/7" is 5 for 15 (33 percent).

-Michalek leads the game with four blocked shots.

Couturier and Harry Zolnierczyk each lead the Flyers with two.

THIRD PERIOD

19:02: Jagr swats a one-timer from above the right circle wide of the cage on the near side.

18:40: A "GEEE-NO!" chant has started in the stands behind the Flyers' goal.

17:58: Sullivan controls the puck in the left wing corner and deals a nice pass through traffic to the slot. The great Joe Vitale is there and taps the puck off the right wing post. Argh.

17:24: Despres winds up and cranks a loose puck at the left point

17:06: Zolnierczyk lofts a backhander from the right wing at the cage. Fleury fends it off.

16:28: Staal thumps Timonen to the ice behind the Flyers' net.

15:11: Talbot has a chance in tight which Fleury fends off. Voracek controls the reobund in the right circle but has it blocked.

13:24: Vitale attemps a backhanded wraparound from the left side of the cage but can't get a clean shot off.

12:48: Jagr controls a bouncing puck in front of the slot and chops it wide to the left of the cage.

12:15: Read tries to make an inside out move on Niskanen, but Niskanen holds his ground and forces a puck separation.

11:47: A puck rolls in on the Flyers net. Bobrovsky tries to cover it as Asham crashes in. He can't find the puck as a scrum develops. Malkin finds it on the right side of the cage and flings it at the cage but the puck hits a cluster of bodies.

11:07: The no-so Great Joe Vitale has a chance in the circle. He has completely clean look at the net but snaps a wrister well high and wide of the cage.

9:08: Kunitz pikcs up a loose puck at the right point and booms a slapper on net. Bobrovsky kicks it out then is run over by Malkin. That's goaltending interfence. As officials sort things out, Neal and Talbot exchange shoves. They don't seem too found of each other. This is obviously a must-kill for the Penguins. Staal, Orpik, Michalek and Dupuis take the ice.

7:27: Hartnell chops a slapper fromt he left wing to the far side. Fleury kicks it out with his left skate.

7:07: Malkin's minor is killed. That was huge for the Penguins.

6:47: Malkin races up the right wing, challenges three Flyers and flips a backhander on net. Bobrovsky kicks it out.

6:48: Voracek sneaks by Despre on the right wing and coasts in on Fleury for a breakaway. He goes backhand but pushes it wide of the cage.

6:29: This ain't over. Malin rgins the offensiv ezone down the slot swings a pass to Kennedy ont he right wing Kenneyd takes the pass, winds up and chrps a simpl slapper over the left shoulder of Bobrovsky. Brutal goal for Bobrovsky to allow but the penguins will take it. Malkin and Despre get assists. This place spring to life. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and the WWE "KENNEDY!" video play. Flyers 3-2.

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5:55: "LET'S GO PENS! LET"S GO PENS!"

5:38: After an icing call, the Flyers call a timeout to get a breather.

4:47: BIG chance for the Penguins as the Flyers are called for too many men. Simmonds will serve it. Do or die here.  Neal, Niskanen, Sullivan, Kunitz and Malkin take the ice.

4:22: Kunitz sneaks a pass from the right wing to Malkin in the left circle. Coburn flops down to block. Malkin lifts a wrister which Bobrovsky appears to get with is righ tarm.

4:12: Niskanen snaps off a wrister from the right circle wide of the cage on the near side.

3:56: Malkin and Giroux battle for a puck in the right wign corner. Giroux dominates the battles and clears it down ice.

2:43: As his penalty expires, Simmonds takes a pass on the left wing but goes offsides. The Penguins' power play has been brutal tonight.

2:15: Briere rushes up the right wing and chops a slapper on net. Fleury shrugs it off with his glove hand.

1:36: Michlek punche Michalek on the left wign corner and trips him during a puck battle. No call.

1:05: Fleury is pulled for an extra attacker.

0:24: Wow. It would have to end this way right. Voracek chops a puck off the right wing boards into the neutral zone. Talbot controls it and airmails it down ice into the open cage for one of us:

Fans head to the doors. Voracek and Couturier get assists. Flyers 4-2.

0:00: End of game. Flyers 4, Penguins 2.

POSTGAME

-The Flyers earned this. Plain and simple. Their top line played better. Thier power play played better. Their penalty killer played better. Their defensemen played better. Their goaltending played better. The score did not accurately reflect the differnece of each team's performance tonight.

-First, Jaromir Jagr. Just wow. What a player. He's still an elite talent at 39. He's still a difference maker. He's not the Jagr of 1999. But he's still a player who changes the flow of the game when he has the puck. Just like Sidney Crosby. Just like Evgeni Malkin. Just like Alex Ovechkin.

-Jagr was even more spectacular with the media after the game:

-For the record, the fan Jagr was referring to was likely @PensKnittingLady. Here is visual proof of her not saluting Jagr back:

-Jagr's line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell completely outclassed the Penguins' top line of Malkin, Chris Kunitz and James Neal. They were a more consistent threat throughout the entire game.

-The Penguins' power play was attrocious. It didnt' even look like a threat at any point tonight. It had a plum chance to tie the game late and looked lifeless.

-The Penguins' blue line had a brutal night. Particularly the top pairing of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen. The Penguins' lack of bodies on the blue line really showed tonight. Niskanen, Orpik and others are playing a lot more minutes than they should.

-We really liked the Flyers' third line. It generated a few things. It helps when you have a few first-rounders like Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn playing.

-Tyler Kennedy played like he had something to prove. He might not have been aware of some of Jagr's comments about him this morning, but he sure had a purpose tonight. He was easily the Penguins' best player.

-What is it about Sergei Bobrovsky in Consol Energy Center. He's now 4-0-0 in this place.

-Maxime Talbot was solid. He was strong defensively. He had a key role on the Flyers' power play and his empty-net goal was icing on the cake.

-The Penguins had a 26-23 advantage in shots.

-Kennedy led the game with five.

-Talbot led the Flyers with four.

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Orpik led the game with 23:36 of ice time.

-Carle led the Flyers with 23:18.

-The Penguins dominated faceoffs, 37-17 (69 percent).

-Jordan Staal was 13 for 18 (72 percent).

-Giroux was 8 for 22 (36 percent).

-Kimmo Timonen and Zbynek Michalek each led the game with four blocked shots.

-Staal moved past Aleksey Morozov for 33rd place on the franchise's all-time scoring list. Both players have 219 points but Staal (110) has more goals than Morozov (84).

-Kennedy know has a career-high five-game scoring streak.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: