Sunday, April 22, 2012

Eastern Conference Quarterfinal: 4) Pittsburgh Penguins VS. 5) Philadelphia Flyers

Welcome to the post for the quarterfinal series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Please use this post as reference for the entire series.

Game 1: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In goal: Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh; Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia. Pittsburgh started the scoring on a Sidney Crosby goal, set up by Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang. The Penguins added on as Tyler Kennedy scored, thanks to Jordan Staal and Letang. Pittsburgh extended the lead again with a Dupuis goal, made possible by Steve Sullivan and Crosby. Philadelphia got on the board in the second period with a Danny Briere goal, with a lone Brayden Schenn assist. The Flyers pulled closer in the third period as Briere put down his second of the night, again with Schenn getting the only helper. Philadelphia tied the game on a Schenn power play goal powered by Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr. The Flyers won in the overtime period as Jakub Voracek netted the puck, with the help of Matt Carle and Matt Read. The three stars of the 4-3 game were Schenn, Briere, and Crosby, while Letang and Dupuis get honorable mentions. Philadelphia leads the series 1-0.

Game 2: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In goal: Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh; Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia. Pittsburgh opened fifteen seconds in with a Sidney Crosby goal, his second of the postseason, from Steve Sullivan and Pascal Dupuis. The Penguins added on with a Chris Kunitz power play goal, set up by James Neal and Evgeni Malkin. Max Talbot answered for Philadelphia on a shorthanded goal passed from Claude Giroux. Pittsbrugh replied with a Paul Martin goal, guided in by Crosby and Dupuis. The Flyers went to work in the second period as Giroux scored a power play goal with the help of Jakub Voracek and Kimmo Timonen. Giroux tied it for Philadelphia with a shorthanded goal, his second of the night, with a lone assist by Talbot. The Penguins retook the lead with the second of the game by Kunitz, another power play goal, powered by Neal and Malkin. The Flyers tied it again with three seconds left in the second period as Sean Couturier scored, with assists provided by Braydon Coburn and Nicklas Grossmann. Pittsburgh regained the lead in the third period with a Tyler Kennedy goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Matt Cooke and Jordan Staal. Philadelphia tied it again with another Couturier goal, his second of the game, going down unassisted. The Flyers got the lead on a Jaromir Jagr goal, passed off of Pavel Kubina and Giroux. Couturier finished his hat trick for Philadelphia with his third of the night, via Giroux, who got a sock trick, and Voracek. Giroux also finished a hat trick with an empty net goal, and Couturier picked up the lone helper. The three stars went to Couturier, Giroux, and Kunitz, while Crosby, Talbot, Voracek, Neal, Malkin, and Dupuis get honorable mentions during the 8-5 game. The Flyers own a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In goal: Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia; Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh began when Jordan Staal scored, via Chris Kunitz and Zbynek Michalek. Philadelphia answered on a Max Talbot shorthanded goal, his second of the postseason, made possible by Claude Giroux and Matt Carle. The Flyers took the lead with Danny Briere's third of the playoffs, a power play goal set up by Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr. Briere struck again to add on the Philadelphia with his second of the game and fourth of the postseason, coming off of Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn. The Penguins got one back as James Neal scored, with the help of Matt Niskanen and Evgeni Malkin. The Flyers shot back on a Matt Read goal with a lone Briere assist. Pittsburgh pulled closer in the second period as Neal scored his second of the game from Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the power play. Read answered for Philadelphia with his second of the game, also a power play goal, passed from Jagr and Schenn. Staal shot back and pulled the Penguins back within one with his second of the game, assisted by Neal and Kunitz. The Flyers answered on a Simmonds goal on the power play, with only Braydon Coburn picking up an assist. Brent Johnson relieved Fleury for the third period, mercifully. This did no help as Philadelphia scored when Giroux netted the puck, his fourth of the postseason, guided in by Jagr for a sock trick. Giroux also got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick on his record after his first period fight with Crosby. The Flyers iced it at 8-4 with another Talbot shorthanded goal, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, with assists from Jakub Voracek and Coburn. The three stars were given to Briere, Giroux, and Jagr, while Talbot, Neal, Staal, Read, Simmonds, Schenn, Coburn, Malkin, and Kunitz pick up the honorable mentions. The Flyers lead the series 3-0.

Game 4: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In goal: Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia; Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh. Philadelphia began with the fifth of the postseason for Claude Giroux, assisted by Jaromir Jagr and Wayne Simmonds on the power play. Evgeni Malkin answered for Pittsburgh, with the help of Pascal Dupuis and Richard Park. The Penguins took the lead with a Matt Niskanen power play goal, fueled by Sidney Crosby and Steve Sullivan. The Flyers retied it as Kimmo Timonen scored a power play goal, coming off of Giroux and Danny Briere. Philadelphia gained the lead as Jakub Voracek put down his second of the playoffs, thanks to Simmonds and Scott Hartnell. Pittsburgh tied it once again as Crosby recorded his third of the postseason, guided in by Niskanen and Malkin. The Penguins gained the lead again as Jordan Staal netted his third of the playoffs, pushed through by Eric Tangradi and Matt Cooke. The score was 4-3 after the first intermission, much to my disappointment once again. Pittsburgh kept the momentum up in the second period as Kris Letang scored a power play goal, powered by Crosby and Sullivan. Sergei Bobrovsky came on in relief of Bryzgalov at this time. This did little to stop the bleeding as Staal notched his second of the game and fourth of the postseason for the Penguins, yet another power play goal, with helpers provided by Tyler Kennedy and Letang. Pittsburgh charged onward as Sullivan registered a power play goal with a lone Fleury assist. The Penguins attacked again with a Dupuis goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from Chris Kunitz. Staal later finished his hat trick to keep Pittsburgh roaring on his fifth of the postseason, with a lone Deryk Engelland assist. The Penguins hit double-digits with a Malkin goal, his second of the game, from Kunitz and Kennedy. The final held at 10-3, with Staal, Malkin, and Niskanen getting the three stars, while Sullivan, Crosby, Letang, Dupuis, Kunitz, Cooke, Kennedy, Giroux, and Simmonds get the honorable mentions. Philadelphia still owns a 3-1 series lead.

Game 5: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In goal: Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh; Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia. Philadelphia led off with a Matt Carle power play goal, coming off of Matt Read and Jaromir Jagr. Pittsburgh tied it with a Steve Sullivan power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Kris Letang and James Neal. The Flyers got the lead back with a power play goal off the tape of Scott Hartnell, via Danny Briere and Claude Giroux. The Penguins retied it in the second period as Jordan Staal notched his sixth of the playoffs, with the help of Tyler Kennedy and Letang. Pittsburgh gained a 3-2 lead when Kennedy put down his third of the postseason, guided in by Matt Cooke and Staal. The third period was scoreless (a rare occurrence among these two teams), leaving 3-2 as the final. Fleury (24 for 26 in saves), Staal, and Carle got the three stars while Kennedy and Letang earn the honorable mentions. The Penguins chipped away to give the Flyers a 3-2 series lead.

Game 6: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In goal: Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia; Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh. Philadelphia began with an early Claude Giroux goal just thirty-two seconds into the game, going in unassisted as his sixth of the postseason. The Flyers added on with a Scott Hartnell power play goal, his second of the playoffs guided in by Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Philadelphia extended the lead in the second period on an Erik Gustafsson goal, set up by Braydon Coburn and Giroux. Pittsburgh got one back with an unassisted Evgeni Malkin power play goal, his third of the postseason. The Flyers answered with a Danny Briere goal, his fifth of the playoffs, via Voracek and Matt Carle. Philadelphia iced it at 5-1 in the third period with a Brayden Schenn empty net goal, his second of the postseason, going down unassisted. The three stars were handed to Giroux, Gustafsson, and Bryzgalov (30 for 31 in saves) while Voracek gets an honorable mention. Philadelphia avoided collapse by winning the series 4-2.

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