Offense fails Flyers as Pittsburgh Penguins pile on late goals

PITTSBURGH — It was a game of dramatic momentum swings, but it ended in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ favor in their 5-1 win over the Flyers.

The Penguins came out faster, setting up in the Flyers zone for long possessions. The Flyers got in the way of their shots until Rickard Rakell’s shot on goal more than five minutes in. On his next shot, the game’s second, he beat goalie Carter Hart to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

As the Penguins skated in to pressure Hart some more, defenseman Justin Braun made a pass from the boards to Kieffer Bellows at center ice. Bellows turned the puck the other way and showed off the shot he’s known for, scoring on Casey DeSmith halfway through the first period. The goal rejuvenated the Flyers, and they took over, controlling the pace of the game and outshooting the Penguins.

Aided by two back-to-back power plays, however, the Penguins took back the lead on Sidney Crosby’s second-period goal. It was his 13th-straight game against the Flyers in which he recorded a point.

The Flyers used a power play of their own to swing the momentum back their way but couldn’t translate that control into goals. The Flyers’ best scoring opportunity came on their second power play, when Owen Tippett took a shot from the left faceoff circle, but DeSmith just managed to get a piece of it with his stick, deflecting it wide.

The Penguins added a third when Hart let in a leaky goal right off a faceoff. An empty-net goal by Jake Guentzel shut down the Flyers’ hopes of a comeback, and they put Hart back in net. However, the Penguins added yet another goal, thanks to Mikael Granlund.

“We’re right there,” coach John Tortorella said. “I know some garbage time, it ends up being 5-1, but a lot of the game I like.”

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Once the puck dropped on the Penguins’ first power play, Noah Cates took control of the puck and skated it the other way. He single-handedly killed over a quarter of the power play. The clock stopped when the puck took a weird bounce off Cates’ skate and disappeared.

When the puck dropped again, this time in the Penguins’ zone, Cates ended up with the puck again. By the time the Penguins regained control, Cates had killed almost half of the power play.

“One of the things we’ve really tried to improve on is making sure we’re aggressive first, not falling into basically a ‘shot blocking penalty kill,’” Tortorella said. “I think we picked our spots really well tonight to be aggressive.”

When the Penguins went back on the power play minutes later, Cates wasn’t out there. The Penguins scored in less than 30 seconds. When Cates got back out there on the other penalty kills, the Flyers were able to shut down the Penguins.

Tortorella has repeatedly said offense is going to be a problem for the Flyers, so they have to beat teams through defense, structure, and toughness. The first period was a great example of that.

The Flyers couldn’t create offense, but they kept themselves in it by making smart choices. The Flyers played smart defense amid an early barrage of Penguins shots, keeping the shots outside, and were able to get in front of them, preventing the puck from reaching their goalie.

As momentum started to swing their way, the Flyers continued to take care of the puck. While the Penguins racked up eight giveaways in the first, the Flyers had none. They also had four takeaways, which helped build offensive momentum. The Flyers avoided recording a giveaway until the third period.

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Tippett continued to play like the Flyers’ best player in Travis Konecny’s absence. He was aggressive on defense, stealing the puck and setting off on breakaways. He showed off his powerful shot, speed and physicality.

Tippett even came up big on the penalty kill, a responsibility he’s only recently taken on. He made a huge shot block. However, he and the team paid for it. Tippett tumbled straight onto the ice in pain, and, as he lay there, the Penguins scored. Tippett limped off the ice and up the tunnel.

“That was a little scary,” Cates said. “He has been a key contributor for us. ... He’s a star in the making.”

The Flyers avoided the disaster of losing their best offensive weapon. Tippett returned and ended up playing the most minutes of the forwards and recorded a game-high eight shots on goal.

The Flyers return home and host the Vegas Golden Knights at 7 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP+).