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Penguins rally past Flyers after goalie Alex Nedeljkovic's outburst over being pulled | TribLIVE.com
Penguins/NHL

Penguins rally past Flyers after goalie Alex Nedeljkovic's outburst over being pulled

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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AP
Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic during a timeout in a game against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
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AP
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan talks with linesman Bryan Pancich against the Lightning last month.

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic has a pretty predictable pattern.

In the event of a loss, he blames himself.

In the event of a win, he credits his teammates.

That approach has made him one of the most popular individuals in the team’s dressing room.

“We know how hard he competes and wants to get better out there,” Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said in Cranberry on Wednesday. “He cares. He’s a heart-and-soul guy.”

That postulate was verified in an emphatically vivid fashion Thursday during a 5-4 overtime win against the rival Philadelphia Flyers.

After allowing three goals on 14 shots, Nedeljkovic was pulled from the game after 27 minutes, 24 seconds of ice time. In reaction, he slammed his stick off the cage and slammed the door to his team’s bench while yelling at those inhabiting the bench.

His display was followed by a rousing comeback by the Penguins, who outscored the Flyers 5-1 during the remainder of the contest to claim one of their more invigorating victories of a mostly ramshackle season while snapping a four-game losing streak (0-4-0).

Rookie Joel Blomqvist, who replaced Nedeljkovic, was credited with the win, improving his record to 4-9-0. He finished the contest with 21 saves on 22 shots.

A goal by forward Evgeni Malkin 73 seconds into the overtime period was the difference. Malkin finished with two goals and two assists.

Penguins coaches and players largely lauded Nedeljkovic — who wasn’t available for comment after the game — and his outburst for turning the tide.

“The decision to pull (Nedeljkovic) wasn’t so much performance-based as it was to try to change momentum,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I had no problem with (Nedeljkovic’s) reaction. For me, that’s just an indication of just how invested he is. He cares. He’s competitive. He wants to win. That’s raw emotion. I have no problem with that. Quite honestly, I thought he inspired the group to want to compete for him.

“I thought our team responded. I think (Nedeljkovic) was a big part of it.”

A transcript of whatever Nedeljkovic bellowed at his teammates wasn’t available — or offered by the intended recipients — but his words clearly had the desired effect.

“I think it’s warranted,” Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves said. “We had a bad effort in (a 6-1 road loss to the Flyers on Tuesday) and we had a bad first period tonight. I guess a bad first half of the game. He’s frustrated, and that’s OK. We’re all emotional.

“The players do that stuff all the time. You just don’t see it because we’re able to hide it on the bench. And he’s front and center. We’re emotional people. It’s what feeds the game. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

A frequent wrong that still needs to be corrected is the Penguins’ chronic habit of allowing a goal on the first shot they face in games. That happened again when Flyers forward Noah Cates scored his 13th goal of the season exactly two minutes into regulation.

Lugging the puck up from his own zone, Flyers forward Bobby Brink gained the offensive blue line, fed a pass to the left wing for Cates and drove the crease, colliding with Penguins defenseman Vincent Desharnais and Graves, intentionally creating a screen. Utilizing Brink’s tactic, Cates managed to nutmeg — i.e. shoot between a player’s skates — all three individuals involved in the screen and beat Nedeljkovic’s glove on the far side. Brink and defenseman Egor Zamula had assists.

Flyers forward Owen Tippett scored his 18th goal thanks to some good fortune 104 seconds into the second period.

After Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler chopped a slapper from the left point of the offensive zone, the puck hit off the end boards and deflected above the right circle. Tippett was in a fortuitous position to claim the rebound and immediately one-timed it toward the crease where it hit off of Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea’s left skate and caromed into the cage. Assists went to Seeler and rookie forward Matvei Michkov.

After a would-be goal by Flyers forward Andrei Kuzmenko was waved off for a high stick at 6:11 of the second, Michkov scored a valid goal — his 18th — at the 7:24 mark.

Settling a puck at the center point of the offensive zone, Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen directed a half-slapper toward the cage. As Graves shoved Flyers forward Sean Couturier into Nedeljkovic, the puck hit off the end boards and deflected to the left of the crease. Michkov claimed it and tucked in a backhander by the right leg of a scrambling Nedeljkovic, who then yielded the cage to Blomqvist. Tippett and Ristolainen registered assists.

Penguins forward Philip Tomasino got the hosts on the scoreboard with his ninth goal at 9:05 of the second.

Hounding Brink into a turnover above the Flyers’ right circle, Penguins forward Danton Heinen dished the puck to the near half-wall for Malkin, who then offloaded a pass to the slot for a wide open Tomasino. With patience, Tomasino flipped the puck to his backhand and elevated a shot over goaltender Samuel Ersson’s right leg. Malkin and Heinen had assists.

It was Tomasino’s fourth goal in his past eight games.

“Feeling pretty good,” Tomasino said. “Obviously, I think there’s still some aspects that I want to improve on, but overall, I feel pretty good. I’ve been getting some good looks and obviously capitalizing on that. Overall, we’re all really happy, myself included, just to get the win tonight and hopefully start going in the right direction here as well.”

The Penguins struck again only 30 seconds later when defenseman Erik Karlsson collected his seventh goal.

Following a faceoff win by Penguins forward Sidney Crosby in the Flyers’ right circle, Karlsson chopped a one-timer through traffic and past Ersson’s blocker on the far side. The lone assist went to Crosby.

Things got ugly at 10:15 of the second period when Penguins forward Boko Imama struck Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway from the side in the neutral zone. Hathaway appeared to be unconscious due to the collision but eventually made his way to the visiting dressing room with assistance from teammates and Flyers staffers.

Earlier in the second period, Imama and Hathaway exchanged pleasantries during a scrum near the Flyers’ cage. And Imama’s hit on Hathaway came almost immediately after Hathaway dropped Penguins forward Noel Acciari with a check.

There was no immediate word on Hathaway’s status. At first, officials gave Imama a major penalty for interference, but a video review downgraded it to a minor penalty.

Flyers coach John Tortorella was measured in critiquing Imama and the officials.

“The explanation was it was not a hit to the head on the hit,” Tortorella said. “That he hit his head on the ice and that’s why it there’s a two-minute penalty. It’s probably one of the dirtiest hits I’ve seen in a while. That’s why he hits his head on the ice. I believe we should be thinking about what really happened on the hit. Not get glued on a hit to the head originally.

“That’s a dangerous, cheap hit. (Referee Frederick L’Ecuyer) gave me the explanation, and I understand the explanation, but I don’t understand how you end up with two minutes on probably one of the dirtiest hits I’ve seen in a while.”

On the ensuing power-play opportunity, Michkov scored again.

Hustling to claim a loose puck at the top of the Penguins’ left circle, Michkov pumped a wrister to the far side by Blomqvist’s glove. Flyers forward Scott Laughton supplied a screen on the sequence. Kuzmenko and forward Travis Konecny collected assists.

The Penguins persisted and pulled within a single score again via another goal from Karlsson.

Accepting a pass from Grzelcyk, Karlsson surveyed the Flyers’ net from the right circle then gripped and ripped a wrister to the far side between Ersson’s blocker and right ribs. Grzelcyk and Malkin generated assists.

Malkin tied the game with his 11th goal 2:30 into the third period.

Coasting into the offensive zone on the left wing, Penguins forward Anthony Beauvillier left a drop pass for Malkin. Advancing into the near circle, Malkin lifted a far-side wrister by Ersson’s glove. Beauvillier and Graves registered assists. It was Graves’ first point of the season in 43 games.

“You want to contribute,” Graves said. “You want to be part of it. Obviously, my role is defensive, and that’s the priority, but you want to be able to chip in. A guy like me kind of depends on others a lot for their offense. But as the year’s ticking away and you haven’t gotten a point yet, you definitely notice a little bit. But it’s nice to get the first point.”

In addition to their nice offensive surge, the Penguins largely steered the game to overtime thanks to Blomqvist, who made 14 saves in the third period and one save on the extra period.

He was far sturdier than in his most recent appearance, a 5-3 home loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday in which he allowed four goals on only 15 shots.

“I just thought he looked big in there,” Sullivan said. “He’s an athletic guy. He made some big saves for us, as did (Nedeljkovic). I thought he played well. This was without a doubt a step forward for (Blomqvist), and it’s certainly encouraging, what we saw from him today.”

Everyone with a vested interest in the Penguins was presumably encouraged by what Malkin offered in overtime.

Ragging the puck in the neutral zone to allow his teammates to change, Malkin backhanded a pass to the home bench for Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. Gaining the offensive zone, Letang initiated a two-on-one rush against former Erie Otters defenseman Jamie Drysdale. From above the right circle, Letang dished to Malkin, who allowed Drysdale to slide out of position before plunking a wrister by Ersson’s blocker on the near side. Letang and Karlsson had assists.

“We did not have a great start tonight,” Malkin said. “We were down three goals, and I’m glad we (came) back. This is a team, we fight, and score a couple of goals and we believe we can change momentum and win the game. Lots of emotion for me. I hope it gives me confidence, give confidence to the team.

“We still have a great team. I believe in these guys.”

The Penguins’ belief in Nedeljkovic was reaffirmed Thursday.

“(Nedeljkovic) had a lot to do with it,” Sullivan said. “I really believe that. He’s a very popular teammate. Nobody wants to be in that situation. Our guys wanted to respond.

“We responded immediately after that.”

Notes:

• Blomqvist snapped a personal five-game losing streak at the NHL level. His last NHL win came in a 4-2 road victory against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 8.

• This was Blomqvist’s second NHL win this season in relief. He took over for Tristan Jarry in a 6-5 home overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16.

• The Penguins’ last overtime win against the Flyers was a 5-4 home victory on Feb. 15, 2022. Letang scored the winning goal.

• Karlsson broke into the Penguins’ top-100 career scorers list. With 99 points, he is now in 97th place. Karlsson surpassed forwards Colby Armstrong (98 points), German Titov (98 points) and Conor Sheary (97 points).

• Acciari appeared in his 500th career game.

• Imama set a new single-season career high by appearing in his seventh game.

• Graves had a ways to go before he actually threatened the franchise mark, but the Penguins’ record for most games in a season without a point was set by forward Tyler Wright, who appeared in 61 games without recording a goal or an assist during the 1998-99 season.

• With Graves getting his first point of the season, Canucks defenseman Noah Juulsen is now the NHL’s non-scoring leader with no points in 35 games.

• In 90 career games against the Flyers, Crosby has 134 points (56 goals, 78 assists).

• In 77 career games against the Flyers , Malkin has 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists).

• Penguins defensemen P.O Joseph and Vladislav Kolyachonok as well as forward Emil Bemstrom 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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