The Philadelphia Flyers (24-26-7) and Pittsburgh Penguins (23-25-9) are in a weird spot. They’re neck-and-neck with one another for last place in the Metropolitan Division while simultaneously being a winning streak away from the wildcard conversation. That established, the Flyers came away with a regulation win in their building, 3-2. Maybe that’s a start?
Game Recap
The Flyers broke the ice just 1:44 into the game courtesy of Scott Laughton’s 11th goal of the season. The primary assist came from Travis Konecny, giving him a two-game point streak after going scoreless in his previous four, but the work was done by Andrei Kuzmenko. In his first shift as a member of the Flyers, he made a nice pass from the wall to Laughton to generate the rush. He got a secondary assist.
Despite dominating Philadelphia in the shot department, the Penguins couldn’t find the back of the net for a while. Erik Karlsson got them knotted up at one in the second frame, though, beating goaltender Samuel Ersson on a sneaky shot down low. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup due to injury, another veteran star had to step up—Karlsson did just that. The assists came from Matt Grzelcyk and Rickard Rakell.
Related: Can the Penguins or Canada Compete Without Crosby?
Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, they only had the game tied for about eight minutes. Netminder Joel Blomqvist came out to challenge Garnet Hathaway on a breakaway chance, attempting to play the puck out of danger. He did the exact opposite, however, sending it off the body of Hathaway and into the net. Philadelphia was being outshot 18-7, yet winning on the scoreboard 2-1.
What the heck, sure. #PITvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/0zgu440A2N
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 9, 2025
Giving the Flyers some insurance was a long-range blast from Konecny with a screen in front. The assists came from defensemen Cam York and Travis Sanheim.
The Penguins responded in some unconventional fashion of their own. They sent a difficult shot in on Ersson that he stopped, and they kept digging away until they heard a whistle. As it was blown, Kevin Hayes scored. It took a review and then a coach’s challenge, but Pittsburgh got their tally. The assists were from new-old acquisition Danton Heinen and Anthony Beauvillier.
They came close, but Pittsburgh was unable to tie the game back up. In the end, Ersson stopped 32 of 34 shots for the Flyers, while Blomqvist made 17 saves on 20 shots for the Penguins.
What’s Next for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh?
These two clubs won’t be back in action for a long time, as they played their final contest before the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Flyers will return to Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 22 to face the Edmonton Oilers, while the Penguins will be on their home ice at PPG Paints Arena to face the Washington Capitals on the same date.
