Sean Couturier's OT goal lifts Flyers over Penguins 2-1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) â Sean Couturier scored 3:55 into overtime to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
Tyson Foerster scored in regulation for Philadelphia.
Sidney Crosby became Pittsburghâs all-time leading scorer against the Flyers when he tallied late in the first period.
The Penguins have lost five of seven and seven of 10.
Philadelphia won the first leg of a home-and-home set with the Penguins 4-3 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh when Couturier netted the only tally in the shootout.
âThese are huge games, big rivalry,â Couturier said. âTwo big wins for our team.â
It only went to overtime this time, as Couturier finished a 2-on-1 with Travis Konecny, beating Alex Nedeljkovic with a one-timer that went just past his left pad and inside the post.
âNice setup,â Couturier said. âEverything just worked out perfectly. Huge win.â
The winning goal was one of several good chances the Flyers had in the contest.
âWhen you give teams those kinds of looks, it's hard to win,â Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. âEasy offense.â
The Penguins also had some scoring opportunities in the extra session but couldn't find the net.
âWe just didn't get it done,â Sullivan said.
Crosby finished a 2-on-1 with Jake Guentzel with 46 seconds left in the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. The goal gave him 54 tallies and 125 points in 85 contests against Philadelphia, passing Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for most points against the Flyers for a Pittsburgh player.
Foerster answered midway through the second with his fifth goal of the season to tie it. Konecny passed to Foerster open in the slot, and he fired a hard wrist shot high over Nedeljkovicâs right shoulder.
The Penguins had several strong scoring chances late in the period, but Carter Hart stood tall in goal for the Flyers. Nedeljkovic later made a great left pad save on Joel Farabeeâs attempt with two minutes left in the period.
Both goalies made 31 saves.
âReally good goaltending,â Flyers coach John Tortorella said of Hart. âWe're doing all those things we have to do. We're just going to continue doing that and see where it goes.â
Konecny twice had breakaway chances on the Flyersâ penalty kill, but Nedeljkovic denied both.
Both teams had quality chances in the third period. Hart made the best save of the frame when he snared Marcus Petterssonâs slap shot with a stellar glove save.
The Penguins were 0 for 3 on the power play and now have gone 29 straight opportunities on the man-advantage without a goal.
The teams meet twice more this season, Jan. 8 in Philadelphia and Feb. 25 in Pittsburgh.
UP NEXT
Penguins: At Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Flyers: At Arizona on Thursday night.
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