PITTSBURGH (AP) -Bill Guerin thought he’d seen it all in the NHL. Then he saw this.
Of all the strange and different ways there are to win a playoff game, this is among the rarest – a two-man advantage goal in overtime. Guerin scored one to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a dramatic 3-2 victory and a two-game series edge over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night, and he almost didn’t know what to say.
Except this: Whew.
“There’s a first time for everything,” the 38-year-old Guerin said, referring to his first career overtime playoff goal.
Actually, it was the second time for this.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there has been only one other playoff game since at least 1933 decided by a two-man advantage overtime goal. Tampa Bay beat Washington 4-3 in 2003 when Vincent Lecavalier scored 2:21 into the extra session.
Guerin’s second goal of the game Friday night – he also scored late in the second period to tie it at 1 – came 18:29 into overtime and followed penalties 30 seconds apart on Mike Knuble (crosschecking) and Claude Giroux (slashing). Before then, the Flyers played a determined, focused and disciplined game to attempt to tie the series.
wever, just as in their undisciplined and penalty-filled 4-1 loss in Game 1, they couldn’t stay out of the penalty box at key moments.
While the referees almost never give a team a two-man edge in overtime, Giroux’s penalty was essentially automatic because his stick broke as he slashed the stick of Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz. Coach John Stevens was unhappy with Giroux’s penalty because a slash wasn’t needed to break up the play.
“The refs saw that the stick broke so they had to call it,” Giroux said. “I was just trying to make sure he doesn’t get the pass and I guess I went a little too hard and it broke. I let down the guys here and I’ve got to put that behind me. It’s a dumb play.”
Previously, the Flyers had played so well – and so much better than they did in Game 1 – it almost seemed like they’d have to invent a way to lose with goalie Martin Biron (46 saves) playing so well. Which they essentially did.
Now, their only chance to avoid a postseason loss to in-state rival Pittsburgh for the second time in as many seasons might be to sweep Games 3 (Sunday) and 4 (Tuesday) at home. The odds aren’t on their side; NHL teams with a 2-0 lead win a best-of-seven series 87.2 percent of the time.
obviously huge for us,” captain Mike Richards said. “We’ve got to come out in full force.”
The trouble is, they did exactly that Friday night and still didn’t win.
The Flyers got the important first goal when Scott Hartnell scored on a power play at 13:26 of the first period. Even after Guerin answered, rookie Darroll Powe restored their lead at 2-1 by scoring off a heavily defended Giroux’s pass slightly more than two minutes into the third.
They held the lead until Jeff Carter’s hooking call led to Evgeni Malkin’s tying goal – yes, the power play again – with 3:27 left in regulation. Malkin, the NHL scoring champion, has two goals and four points in the series.
Minutes before, Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury kept it at 2-1 by making possibly the save of his career, sticking out his right skate to deflect Carter’s shot toward a wide-open corner of the net.
“I was a little far from the puck on that, I was in a bad spot so I just tried to get my pads over there and it hit my toe,” Fleury said.
If Fleury didn’t make that save, there probably wouldn’t have been an overtime, and the Flyers could go back home feeling much better about the series.
“We certainly proved to ourselves that we can play,” Stevens said. “We did a lot of good things. But it’s tough – it’s tough, but we’ll regroup.”
be something out of the ordinary should have been expected during a Flyers-Penguins overtime game.
The last time the two teams went to overtime in the playoffs in Pittsburgh, the Flyers didn’t win until Keith Primeau’s goal in the fifth overtime on May 4, 2000 or, actually, the morning of May 5. It was the longest NHL game since 1936.
Now, this.
“Obviously it’s a tough loss,” Carter said. “We had a lot of chances, a lot of great efforts from a lot of people. We’ve got to go back and win a couple of games.”
Hurricanes 2, Devils 1, OT
At Newark, N.J., defenseman Tim Gleason scored his first NHL playoff goal on a slap shot at 2:40 of overtime and Carolina tied the first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
Gleason’s shot from the right point appeared to hit the skate of Devils defenseman Niclas Havelid and carom past defenseless goalie Martin Brodeur.
Eric Staal, who provided a screen in front of Brodeur, scored the other goal for the Hurricanes.
Zach Parise tallied for the Devils, who lost captain Jamie Langenbrunner to a lower body injury in the second period.
Game 3 is Sunday at Carolina.
Canucks 3, Blues 0
es.
Mats Sundin, playing in his first postseason series in five years, put Vancouver ahead late in the second period, and Luongo did the rest.
Game 3 will be Sunday in St. Louis.
Alex Burrows added an insurance goal midway through the third period, and Henrik Sedin, who had an assist on Burrow’s goal, scored into an empty net with 1:24 left.
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