Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins stay alive, win Game 4

Philidelphia–the purpose of abusive chants pittsburgh penguins star Sidney Crosby echoed through philadelphia flyershome arena one hour before puck drop and continued throughout Game 4. The only response Crosby had to give was on the scoreboard, as he led the Penguins to a goal. win 4-2 On Saturday, it kept the Flyers from beating their opponents.

Crosby opened the scoring with his first goal of the playoffs in the first period and set up defenseman chris letangCrucial goal of the third period with a nifty soccer-style kick of the puck. He was on the ice in both zones, setting the tone for the Penguins and getting this series back to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Monday night.

“He’s our leader. When he gets going, it gets the whole group going and that’s what he did tonight,” the Penguins defenseman. Ryan Shea Said. “We know he’s going to bring it. It’s just a matter of the rest of the team – we’ve got to bring it too and follow in his footsteps.”

Crosby put the Penguins on the board at 14:24 of the first period with a rocket shot that beat the goaltender Dan Vladar On the power play.

Crosby said, “We were very happy with our start in Game 3 and just wanted to try to do that again. I thought getting the first game would definitely help us, but they still stepped up. They still created some chances.”

What Philadelphia didn’t do in Game 4 was get under the Penguins’ skin like they did in Game 3. The Penguins did not engage in extracurricular activities after the whistle, nor were they prepared to take serious penalties.

Crosby said, “I thought we were a little more prepared. I mean, it’s all going to happen. It’s the playoffs, but we have to be a little more smart about it.” “I thought we did a better job of that. At the end of the day, we have to conserve our energy between whistles. I think that translated into the way we played. We had a lot of guys contributing, creating really good chances and looking like ourselves.”

A big change for the Penguins in Game 4: For once, they had better goaltending. arters silos Replaced stuart skinnerWho lost the first three games of the series and made 28 saves in the win. Meanwhile, Flyers goalie Dan Vladar Gave three goals on 20 shots.

Vladar has been a rock for the Flyers in both the regular season and playoffs, where he stopped 70 of 74 shots for a .946 save percentage and 1.33 goals-against average. But he was blamed for the Penguins’ second goal, as he fumbled the puck behind his own net and turned it over. Ricard RaquelWho scored his first of the series without an assist at 1:03 of the second period.

Flyers found life at 15:40 of the second period thanks to Trevor Zegraswho moves the puck through the attacking zone until it finds the rookie denver barkey In front for a tap-in into the previous silos.

But Crosby made his presence felt again in the third period. with garnet hathaway And eric carlson In the box and the teams playing 4-on-4, Crosby struggled to keep the puck in the attack zone along the boards before kicking it to Letang, who beat Vladar for a 3–1 lead.

Letang said it wasn’t just the kick, but what else Crosby did in the game.

“Sometimes it’s all the little things. Picking that guy up gave me a lot of time to choose my shot,” Letang said. “It was an amazing game. It shows you how much IQ he has on the ice, and he knows what to do in every situation.”

The Flyers clawed back the lead after 2:36. travis konecny Hit a shot from a knee on the ice that deflected off Silovs, cutting the lead to 3-2. But Penguins forward Connor Deaver made an empty netter to tie the game.

The action shifts back to Pittsburgh for Game 5, where the Penguins find new life. Meanwhile, Flyers coach Rick Tocquet was left wondering why his young team – which had a chance to beat Crosby and the Penguins – was so lifeless in the first half of Game 4. He indicated that there may be changes in his lineup.

“I think we had some individuals… I don’t know if that’s the case or not [being] Complacent, but we didn’t do small, little things. I think they got a little more desperate at times,” Tocquet said. “We fought back. So that’s the good part of it. “We’ll watch some video and figure out who we’re going to put in the lineup for the next game.”