Game 3 Post Mortem: Flyers 5, Penguins 2

With all due respect to our faithful readers, I decided to forgo a standard recap of the Penguins’ 5-2 loss to the Flyers in Game 3, which nobody would want to read anyway, and share some loose-leaf thoughts instead.

• Mario Lemieux’s “Garage League” is alive and well and thriving in the City of Brotherly Shove;
• The officiating last night was astonishingly bad, even by NHL playoff standards. Garnet Hathaway felt compelled to twirl his stick in Sidney Crosby’s face while Sid was awaiting a faceoff (which I’ve never witnessed in all my years of watching hockey), strikes him, then has the temerity to bitch about getting a penalty. No worries, the refs knuckle under and whistle Sid for embellishment, presumably for not getting his face out of the way of Hathaway’s stick.
• As if that sorry episode wasn’t troubling enough, when Travis Konecny hits Bryan Rust with an uppercut elbow following a play around the net, then gets grounded and pounded for his trouble, he blatantly attempted to kick Rusty with his skate. Instead of receiving a five-minute match penalty and game misconduct for his gutless and dangerous act, the [expletive] draws only a minor while Rust got tagged with a double-minor by the myopic refs. Of course, Philly scores on the ensuing power play and the momentum swung irretrievably in their favor.
• To quote Jim Carr from Slap Shot, “This is hockey!”
• I thought the Pens possessed enough character and hockey toughness to play through whatever crap Philly dished out. I was wrong. It’s 2012 all over again. The parallels between this series and that one? Truly stunning.
• There are a few exceptions. Parker Wotherspoon, in particular, is taking a piece of everyone wearing the orange-and-black. He looks like he should be playing for…well…the Flyers. 
• On Philly’s side of the fence, they’ve taken a page from the Panthers’ take-no-prisoners approach and are hitting hard and often, with a special emphasis on after-the-whistle garbage. They’ve dragged the Pens into the mud with their back-alley tactics.
• It was brilliant on Rick Tocchet’s part to let it “slip out” prior to the series that the Flyers would target the Pens’ stars. Talk about a primer in the subtle art of intimidation!
• Mike Sullivan once said the key to winning a Cup is to get the players to buy into what their coach is selling. Well, the Flyers have embraced Tocchet’s instruction, hook, line and sinker.
• I loved what Anthony Mantha brought to the table during the regular season and what a positive presence he’s been. But my goodness, has he been invisible during this series. Except when he lost track of Rasmus Ristolainen on the Flyers’ second goal and sailed the puck over the glass in the third period to set the stage for Philly’s backbreaker on the power play.
• When presented with an obstacle, the Flyers go through it.
• When presented with an obstacle, the Pens pass, pass, pass (and pass and pass) their way around it. Unfortunately, it’s hard-wired into our DNA.
• The only guy who’s attacking the net with fervor and consistency is Rust. Where, oh where, have you gone Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz?
• Another exception? Ben Kindel. I thought the kid played with passion and fire last night. He challenged the much larger Porter Martone in the third period and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
• Love the job Dan Muse did this season. But in my book, keeping Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin separated smacks of stupidity. So does refusing to give “Chinny” a prominent role on the power play.
• Speaking of, Geno’s first-period tally to give us a 1-0 lead (our only lead of the series) and Erik Karlsson’s third period rocket to cut Philly’s lead to 3-2 came with the man advantage. However, our power play had long stretches of resembling the Todd Reirden run fiasco of 2023-24 (see above reference to pass, pass, pass).
• I held my breath literally every time Sam Girard and especially Kris Letang were on the ice. My word, has Tanger’s game deteriorated with age.
• Stuart Skinner made some huge, game-saving stops, but yielded a long-range goal from downtown Philly to low-scoring Nick Seeler at a crucial juncture to put the Flyers up 3-1.
• Philly’s fourth line of Hathaway, Sean Couturier and Luke Glendening has had a huge impact on the series. They’ve far outshone our more heralded fourth line.
• The Flyers’ defense has scored as many goals (four) as our entire team.
• With the series all but lost, the Pens should recall Boko Imama from the Baby Pens for Game 4 and let him wreak a little havoc. First and foremost on my hit list, Hathaway, Konecny and Ristolainen.
• I’m kidding, sort of…