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Penguins Take Battle Of Pennsylvania With 6-1 Win Over Flyers
Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Jordan Staal scored twice and Sidney Crosby added a goal and two assists as Pittsburgh routed Philadelphia, 6-1, in the front end of a home-and-home series at Mellon Arena.
Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko also posted a goal and helper each for the Penguins, who have won three in a row and look for a fourth consecutive win in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26-of-27 shots for his 19th win of the season.
Dan Carcillo scored the lone goal for the Flyers, who stumbled to their 11th defeat in 13 contests. Brian Boucher was victimized for all six goals on 35 shots.
Carcillo appeared to have brought the Flyers within 4-2 at the 2:15 mark of the third, but a review determined he directed the puck into the net with a kicking motion despite making an effort to swipe at the disc.
The denial recharged the home team, and Fedotenko gave the Pens a four-goal edge with 7:43 left in regulation, taking a drop pass from Malkin and blasting a shot home from 30 feet.
Malkin’s short-handed goal then capped the rout with 1:21 to play.
Crosby's power-play goal 3 1/2 minutes into the contest put the Penguins on the board, and Bill Guerin's stuffer doubled the advantage at 6:09.
Philly cut its deficit to one on a power play with 8:14 left in the first, as Carcillo took a Mike Richards touch pass and backhanded it home. Pittsburgh, though, went up 3-1 while shorthanded, on Staal's wrister from a 3-on-1 break at 14:51.
After numerous chances on both sides during a tense second period, Staal converted a Kris Letang rebound for a tally with 15 seconds left for a 4-1 game.
The Penguins have won both meetings this season and four of the last five matchups dating back to January...Pittsburgh has also won six of the last seven games over Philadelphia at home...Earlier Tuesday, the Flyers claimed goaltender Michael Leighton off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes...Philly fell to 2-5 since John Stevens was fired.
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