Sid Bags 500th, Penguins Chase Down Flyers

When I was a kid, one of my very favorite meals was sloppy joes. Occasionally they’d serve them on Fridays at Ben Franklin grade school and I always loved the meaty, saucy treats. I must say they lived up to their name. Often as I devoured them, a morsel or two would slip out from the bun and plop onto my lap or shirt. Part of the fun.

Well, last night’s wild, 5-4, come-from-behind-the-eight-ball overtime triumph over the Flyers reminded me of sloppy joes. Indeed, I’m hard-pressed to think of a more loosey goosey, slipshod effort than the one turned in by our guys. It was as if we felt all we needed to do was step on the ice and the floundering Flyers would wilt. To the contrary, our undermanned rivals came at us hard and nearly upset the apple cart. But in the end we snatched a delicious victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat.

Speaking of kids, Sidney Crosby (aka “Sid the Kid”) notched his much anticipated 500th career goal to the delight of teammates and the 18,385 partisans in attendance. In the process, becoming the 46th player in NHL history to do so. An amazing feat and wholly appropriate that it would come against the blood-rival Flyers.

Back to the game itself. While the visitors were dialed in from the outset, we came out looking like we were anticipating a leisurely Sunday afternoon skate. The Flyers grabbed the early lead at 13:47 of the first period off a 2-on-1, with captain (and rumored trade bait) Claude Giroux doing the honors.

The good guys knotted the score just 22 seconds later on a hustling play from a most unlikely source. Spinning off a check by Philly forward Connor Bunnaman, Dominik Simon arrived at the doorstep just in time to deflect Marcus Pettersson’s feathery feed from the top of the left circle over goalie Carter Hart. Setting the stage for Sid’s epic tally.

With the Pens working on a power play, Evgeni Malkin fed a quick pass to No. 87 in his office to the right of the net. Sid made no mistake and lasered the puck past Hart’s glove, touching off an emotional, bench-emptying celebration reminiscent of his “Golden Goal” in the 2010 Olympics.

Quick recap. Sid gets his 500th. Pens are up 2-1 going into the second period against the woebegone Flyers. No worries, right?

Wrong.

Philly tied the score just 57 ticks into the second frame on a marker by Scott Laughton, who drove the puck past Casey DeSmith from the high slot. Midway through the period the Flyers snatched a 3-2 lead thanks to defenseman Nick Seeler’s first goal of the campaign. Philly made it 4-2 with less than three minutes remaining in the period on a long-range blast from Justin Braun following a scramble in the Pens’ zone.

Between periods, black-and-gold skipper Mike Sullivan issued his charges a challenge. “Let’s see what we’re made of here.”

For a time, it didn’t look like much. But with the game clock ticking down to 7:24 remaining in regulation, Jake Guentzel struck for a huge power-play goal to breathe life back into his teammates…and the fans.

Say this about our Pens. Like sharks at a feeding frenzy, once they get a whiff of blood in the water…

On the ensuing rush, Danton Heinen spotted Chad Ruhwedel slipping through the back door uncovered and hit him with a perfect cross-crease feed. Ruhwedel swept the puck into the open side of the net to knot the score at 4-apiece.

Having battled back, the locals nearly blew it when Guentzel drew a hooking penalty a short time later to hand Philly a power play. With 6’6” Isaac Ratcliffe planted in his grille, DeSmith made an unconscious…and likely game-saving…glove save on Morgan Frost.

In the opening minute of overtime, Kris Letang broke up a Philly rush and blazed back into the Flyers’ zone on a 2-on-1 with Crosby. Looking pass all the way, Tanger suddenly pulled the trigger and beat Hart through the five-hole with an ice-hugging bullet, touching off a wild celebration among teammates and fans alike.

A delectable if slovenly win for our boys.

Just like sloppy joes.

Puckpourri

The Pens outshot the Flyers, 34-27, but won only 42 percent of the faceoffs. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but the Flyers probably deserved a better fate.

Aside from Mario Lemieux, has there ever been a better sharp-angle shooter in the history of the game than Crosby?

Our fourth line of Brian Boyle, Zach Aston-Reese and Simon was once again dominant (Corsi of 75), collecting two points on the evening. Boyle’s doing a fantastic job filling in for injured Teddy Blueger and Simon continues to impress with his diligence and hustle.

The Malkin line had a better game, but I still think adjustments are necessary. Note to Sully…try shifting Jeff Carter to Geno’s right flank. And for goodness sake, REUNITE EVAN RODRIGUES AND KASPERI KAPANEN, who showed great chemistry earlier in the season.  A case where two wrongs…or in this case…ice-cold forwards, could make a right.

DeSmith didn’t have his best game (23 saves on 27 shots) but he hung tough when he needed to.

In a welcome departure from the recent norm, ten different Pens showed up on the score sheet.

Winners of four straight, the Pens (31-11-8, 70 points) remain atop the Metro with a three-point lead over Carolina. Starting with Thursday night’s matchup with Toronto north of the border, the road gets considerably tougher for our guys from here on out.