Penguins stumble in late comeback win by Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed something of a rare treat Thursday.

They scored first.

The first three times, in fact.

In their first 21 games of the 2020-21 season, they have yielded the first goal 13 times and typically needed to mount some type of gutsy comeback in order to earn a victory.

But Thursday, no such effort was required.

Unfortunately for them, the effort required to defend a three-goal lead was absent.

Despite taking a 3-0 lead within the first 3 minutes, 57 seconds of regulation, the Penguins stumbled throughout the contest’s the final 56:03 and allowed the rival Philadelphia Flyers to mount a stunning comeback at PPG Paints Arena, losing 4-3.

“We sat around,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said via video conference. “We didn’t keep pressing. We came out pretty aggressive, got rewarded. But let our foot off the gas for the rest of the game, thinking we could get away with it. But in this league, there’s too much talent and skill. A three-goal lead, especially early in the game, is not safe.”

Things didn’t appear safe for Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott, who was blitzed by an early Penguins surge after he allowed defenseman Kris Letang to score 2:46 into regulation.

Only 34 seconds later, defenseman Mark Friedman, whom the Penguins acquired from the Flyers via waivers eight days earlier, scored his first career goal on a rebound from the crease.

Penguins forward Jared McCann followed that with his fourth goal of the season a mere 37 seconds later.

Flyers coach Alain Vigneault called a timeout to regroup his squad and to stymie the Penguins’ momentum. The tactic appeared to pay off.

Less than a minute after McCann’s score, the Penguins were granted a power-play chance but failed to generate a scoring opportunity during that sequence.

The Flyers had no such malfunctions on their first power play as they generated a handful of shots before forward Sean Couturier chopped a slapper from the left circle for his sixth goal.

Things didn’t get better at the 2:35 mark of the second period when Friedman was injured on an attempted check of Flyers forward Nolan Patrick, who braced for the collision and struck Friedman’s head with his right shoulder. Friedman required assistance off the ice and did not return. There was no word on his status after the game.

The Flyers took advantage of the Penguins’ shuffled defensive pairings after Friedman’s departure. At 6:49 of the second, with Penguins defensemen John Marino and Marcus Pettersson out of position during a goalmouth scramble, Flyers forward Claude Giroux collected his second goal of the season.

The score was tied 3-3 at 13:37 of the third. After a turnover by Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry from his own end boards, Giroux pumped a wrister from the slot that glanced off of the right leg of Flyers forward Scott Laughton and into the net for Laughton’s sixth goal.

The winning goal came from Giroux at 17:52 of the third. After Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson blocked a shot above the crease, Flyers forward Nicola Aube-Kubel was able to swat the rebound free into the crease where Giroux tapped in an easy score that gave the Penguins an ugly loss.

“When you have a great start like that, it’s something that’s got to fuel you to keep bringing the same game that you’re playing,” said Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, who returned to the lineup after missing one game because of the NHL’s protocol for covid-19. “Unfortunately, they pushed back, and we didn’t.”

Jarry finished with 31 saves on 35 shots as his record dropped to 8-7-1.

While the loss was atypical for the Penguins, it continued a pattern of disjointed play that has frustrated all season.

“I know we’re capable of more consistent play,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “But we haven’t found it yet. Some nights, when we play the game hard and we play committed, we play the right way and we work together, we’re a competitive hockey team. Then for whatever reason, other nights, we get away from it. And tonight was one of those nights.

“We had a great start. We accomplished what we set out to do there. But we’ve got to play a full 60-minute game.”