NHL: Strong second period carries Flyers past Penguins for 3-0 edge

Trevor Zegras, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler and Noah Cates each scored their first career playoff goals to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 home victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

After winning Games 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh, the Flyers struck three times in a dominant second period and relied on Dan Vladar, who made 28 saves, to close out the win.

Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia. Cates and Zegras each added an assist, while Jamie Drysdale, Sean Couturier and Noah Juulsen contributed two assists apiece.

Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson scored for Pittsburgh, which now faces elimination and must win Saturday in Philadelphia to keep its season alive. Stuart Skinner stopped 24 shots in the loss.

“We have to turn the page. We’ve got to win a game, and that has to be our focus,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “We’ll focus on that one game to get this series back to Pittsburgh.”

Pittsburgh opened the scoring 4:18 into the game on a power play, as Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Malkin connected on a tic-tac-toe passing sequence finished by Malkin at the net front.

That would be the Penguins’ only goal of the first period, as Philadelphia took control in a physical and high-scoring second frame.

Zegras tied the game at 5:18 with a power-play one-timer from the right circle. The goal came during a chaotic stretch that saw 11 players in the penalty box following a series of roughing penalties after a scrum in the previous shift.

Less than four minutes later, Ristolainen gave the Flyers the lead, finishing a setup from Juulsen with a shot from the right circle that slipped through Skinner’s five-hole. About two minutes after that, Seeler extended the advantage when his point shot found its way through traffic and into the net.

“It’s great. Any time you can get depth scoring, that’s a good thing,” Seeler said. “It’s always good to get those goals.”

Pittsburgh pressed in the third period, which turned eventful for Vladar. He briefly lost his skate blade early in the frame and later appeared to aggravate his right arm after a collision with Rust.

The Penguins capitalized on a power play when Karlsson fired a shot that slipped under Vladar’s arm with 10:21 remaining, cutting the deficit.

However, the Flyers quickly responded. Less than three minutes later, Cates converted a goal at the crease, lifting a forehand under the crossbar after a slick move in front of the net to restore Philadelphia’s control.

Tippett sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 1:12 remaining.

— Field Level Media / Reuters