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Penguins lose another clunker to Flyers, remain winless since break | TribLIVE.com
Penguins/NHL

Penguins lose another clunker to Flyers, remain winless since break

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
8247766_web1_AP25053836318883
AP
Mike Sullivan’s team fell to 0-3 since the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Coming out of the nearly two-week break for the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off exhibition tournament, the Pittsburgh Penguins had nothing but games that could be categorized as “must wins” on their remaining regular-season schedule if they were to mount anything resembling a push for the postseason.

But based on their first three contests since emerging from that break, the Penguins look like they’re facing “can’t wins.”

Such was the case again Tuesday as they were trampled by the rival Philadelphia Flyers, 6-1, at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

The result was their third consecutive defeat since the break (0-3-0) and the fifth in their past six games (1-4-1), including games going into the break.

While the Penguins are still in a heliocentric orbit of postseason contention, the playoffs are rapidly becoming smaller and smaller in the window.

Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s record fell to 12-11-5 after he stopped 32 of 38 shots. Following the game, he absorbed blame for the defeat.

“You put anybody else in the net tonight — I don’t know if we win — but it (would not be) 6-1, I’ll tell you that,” Nedeljkovic said to reporters in Philadelphia via audio provided by the team’s media relations staff. “We’ve got to find a way to be better in net than them.”

Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen opened the scoring on his team’s first shot of the contest 3:56 into regulation.

Gaining the offensive zone on the right wing, Flyers forward Owen Tippett fed a backhand to the near wall for rookie forward Matvei Michkov. Surveying his options for a moment, Michkov dished a pass to the center point for defenseman Egor Zamula, who then offloaded the puck to the left circle where Ristolainen blasted a one-timer through Nedeljkovic’s five hole for his fourth goal this season. Zamula and Michkov had assists.

The Flyers went up by two at 12:19 of the second period via forward Noah Cates’ 11th goal.

Off a drop pass in the neutral zone by Flyers forward Jakob Pelletier, forward Bobby Brink hustled into the Penguins’ zone on the right wing then tapped a short-area feed to the left wing for Cates. Utilizing Penguins defenseman Kris Letang as a screen, Cates fired a near-side wrister that clunked off the post and beat Nedeljkovic’s blocker. Brink and Pelletier procured assists.

Penguins forward Philip Tomasino’s eighth goal came 6:09 into the second period.

Taking a pass at the center red line and then coasting a bit toward the visiting penalty box, Penguins forward Michael Bunting chipped a pass across the ice into Philadelphia’s zone. Tomasino hustled past Flyers forward Andrei Kuzmenko, settled the puck in the right circle, cut across the front of the net and then tucked a deft backhander by goaltender Samuel Ersson’s right skate. Bunting and Letang logged assists.

Any notion of this being a competitive contest was snuffed out at 11:55 of the middle frame when Flyers forward Tyson Foerster found his 16th goal.

Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale stole a pass attempt by Penguins forward Rickard Rakell in the neutral zone then initiated transition, feeding the puck to Brink, who gained the Penguins’ zone on the right wing. Driving into the near circle, Brink left a drop pass for Drysdale, who then distributed a seam pass to the opposite circle for Foerster, who pumped a one-timer by a scrambling Nedeljkovic’s blocker. Assists went to Drysdale and Brink.

The rout was on at 18:55 of the second when Cates scored his 12th goal.

Accepting a pass in the Penguins’ left circle, Foerster curled to his right and lifted a wrister on net. Nedeljkovic appeared to make an initial save with his glove but couldn’t contain a rebound. As Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk battled Brink above the blue paint, the rebound bounced to the left of the crease where Cates jabbed at it, causing it to float past Nedeljkovic’s blocker. Assists belonged to Brink and Foerster.

It took the Flyers only 10 seconds to follow that up with Brink’s eighth goal.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Foerster chipped the puck into the Penguins’ zone on the left wing, allowing Cates to chase it down. Approaching the cage, Cates directed the puck to the crease. As Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph stumbled to the ice and fell into Nedeljkovic, the puck struck Brink’s stick and then off his right glove before caroming into the net. Cates and Foerster had assists.

Tippett’s 17th goal came 6:08 into the third period thanks to a series of blunders by the Penguins.

From his own left circle, Penguins defenseman Vincent Desharnais forced an ill-conceived pass attempt across the ice between Penguins linemates Danton Heinen and Blake Lizotte. Tippett wound up receiving the puck and surged to the right circle where his pass attempt for Michkov was broken up in the slot by Joseph. Heinen tried to skate the loose puck out of danger but wound up surrendering it to Michkov, who fed it to Flyers forward Sean Couturier at the left hashmarks. With the Penguins completely disheveled on the sequence, Couturier slipped a pass to the right of the crease where Tippett tapped in an easy forehand shot behind a distressed Nedeljkovic. Couturier and Michkov had assists.

“They competed harder, they shot the puck better than we did, played the puck better than we did, forechecked better than we did,” Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson said to reporters in Philadelphia. “Did everything better than we did.”

Notes:

• Penguins forward Bryan Rust returned to the lineup after missing three games due to an undisclosed injury and illness. He was activated from injured reserve while forward Boko Imama (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve. Imama has missed four consecutive games.

• Grzelcyk was in the lineup Tuesday after appearing to suffer a head injury during a 5-3 home loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday. Grzelcyk, forward Noel Acciari and Karlsson are the only members of the Penguins who have appeared in all 60 of the team’s games this season.

• Karlsson had a seven-game scoring streak (two goals, six assists) snapped.

• Penguins defensemen Ryan Graves and Vladislav Kolyachonok and forward Matt Nieto were healthy scratches.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
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