Flyers Reel in Penguins, 4-3

“Too much, too soon.”

As I watched our Penguins bolt from the starting gate last night, that quote from the hockey classic Slap Shot popped into my head. Uttered by a ref while watching Broom County’s Barclay Donaldson beat the tar out of the Chiefs’ Dave “Killer” Carlson, it’s also an apt epithet for our deflating 4-3 come-from-in-front loss to the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena.

Indeed, when Jared McCann’s sprawling redirect of a nifty Kasperi Kapanen feed ran the score to 3-0 in favor of the good guys, I glanced at the time of the goal.

Three-fifty-seven.

Still over 56 minutes of hockey to be played. That’s a lot of time, I thought. I hope we don’t go into prevent mode.

Which is pretty much what happened. We had six shots on goal at that stage. We unleashed only 23 more the rest of the way. During that span the Flyers piled up 35.

A classic case of the tortoise and the hare.

It reminded me of our ill-fated playoff series versus the Flyers in 2012. For the uninitiated, we raced to a 3-0 first-period lead in Game 1…and lost 4-3 in overtime. Determined to make amends, we snatched a 3-1 opening-period lead in Game 2. Lost that one, 8-5. A 19-year-old kid named Sean Couturier scored a hat trick.

There’s something about those Halloweenish orange-and-black uni’s that brings out the worst in us.

Back to the game.

Before you could blink, the Pens filled the net three times on tallies by Kris Letang, Mark Friedman and McCann. Friedman, in particular, seemed to relish scoring against his old team and made no bones about it during an animated celebration. To digress, this kid has the makings of a heart-and-soul sparkplug, the type we sorely need. But his showy display may have unwittingly served to inspire his former team.

Minutes after Friedman’s goal he was crunched by Nolan Patrick, who drew a boarding call. Had we cashed in on the power play it might have been a different game, but our guys predictably misfired.

The Flyers had no such difficulty. With Bryan Rust in the box for interference, the aforementioned Couturier struck on the ensuing man advantage to make it 3-1.

Uh oh.

For me the turning point came early in the second period…again involving Friedman. Looking to avenge Patrick’s hit, he lined up his ex-mate just inside the Pens’ blue line. Patrick saw him coming and led with his shoulder, flattening Friedman. Putting him on “queer street” in boxing parlance. The Pens’ defenseman wobbled off the ice and didn’t return.

That’s what happens when 5’11” 185, however game, collides with 6’2” 203.

Down to five d-men, the black-and-gold mostly stood around and watched, occasionally devolving into a ghastly defensive breakdown. I won’t describe all the gory details, but on the Flyers’ second goal Claude Giroux and Scott Laughton were left alone and unfettered in front of Tristan Jarry while defensemen Marcus Pettersson and John Marino mysteriously attended to other duties in a galaxy far, far away.

Can you say blown coverage?

Anyway, Philly gradually reeled us in like a spent mackerel on the end of 15-pound monofilament line to snatch two precious points.

I’ll leave it to coach Mike Sullivan to sum up.

“We just didn’t play the game hard enough or smart enough,” he said. “When you get up early in games, you’ve got to continue to play hard and do the things that brought you success. I don’t think we did that as a group.”

Puckpourri

The Flyers outshot the Pens, 35-29, and held a 42-38 edge in hits. Philly converted on one of two power-play chances, we were oh for two.

Following a strong start, our possession numbers are sinking of late. We’re presently 10th in the league in Corsi For at 50.53 percent.

Sidney Crosby returned to the lineup following a one-game absence. Number 87 turned in a typical Sid performance, finishing with an assist, a plus-one and a team-high five shots on goal. He won 54 percent of his draws.

Only wish the rest of the team was as consistent as our captain.

The Pens are presently in fifth place in the MassMutual East with a record of 12-9-1 and 25 points, two behind the Flyers and Boston. Both teams have two games in hand.

In the “more bad news” department, the Rangers are quietly beginning to heat up. They have 21 points and a game in hand on our Pens.

Opinyinz

Marino had an awful game, finishing at minus-three. His erstwhile partner Mike Matheson wasn’t much better…at least not in the defensive zone. His giveaway in the corner to Travis Konecny led directly to the tying goal. And Matheson’s failed sweep-check attempt in front of the net teed up Giroux’s game winner.

Following an outstanding stretch, the former Panther’s plummeted back to earth (minus-four in his past six games). Someone recently likened Matheson to Philly’s equally gifted but erratic Shayne Gostisbehere. That seems a suitable comparison. Two guys who breathe life into their team at one end of the ice and snuff it out at the other.

During the post-game press conference, a reporter (can’t remember who) suggested the Pens need help in front of the net at both ends of the ice. BINGO!

Calgary’s Sam Bennett was a healthy scratch last night and may once again be on the trade block. If ever a player needed a change of scenery, it’s Bennett. Brian Burke drafted him fourth overall in 2014. I’d love to connect the dots and bring the struggling 24-year-old power forward to the ‘Burgh.