Nearly every pundit picked the Pittsburgh Penguins to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in this first-round playoff series. After one round, it's looking like they may have been right.
Penguins Vs. Flyers, NHL Playoffs 2012 Game 1: Pittsburgh Up 3-0 After 1st Period
Sidney Crosby opened the scoring less than four minutes into the first period, and later on, Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis added goals as Pittsburgh jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead over the Flyers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
More: See a GIF of Kennedy’s goal.
Dupuis' goal was particularly crushing for the Flyers. It was an odd sequence in which the puck came from below the goal line and pinballed in front of the net a bit before bouncing in behind Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who had no clue where the puck was.
The Flyers had not played well to that point and looked particularly shaky in their own zone, but just prior to the Dupuis goal, they had controlled several shifts and were beginning to generate scoring chances. After the goal, they had to settle for a first intermission deficit of three goals. There’s plenty of hockey left and plenty of time for adjustments to be made, but if they’re not made quickly, it could be a long night for the orange and black.
Stick with SBNation.com for full Penguins vs. Flyers series coverage. For more from the Pittsburgh perspective, check in with Pensburgh, and for more from the Philadelphia perspective, check in with Broad Street Hockey.
See More:
