In a first-round playoff series between Pennsylvania rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers threw the first punch — and the second.
Holding a 2-0 edge in the best-of-seven series, the Flyers look to take a commanding lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins when the teams reconvene for Game 3 Wednesday in Philadelphia.
After recording a 3-2 victory in Game 1 over the weekend, Philadelphia blanked Pittsburgh 3-0 on Monday behind 27 saves from Dan Vladar. Vladar’s first shutout since joining the Flyers last summer was also his first career postseason blanking.
“He has been like that all year for us,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “Guys enjoy playing for him. He comes by the bench, he’s talking to the players. A lot of guys aren’t used to goalies talking that much, but that’s the way Vladdy is. I love his personality. He’s a fun guy to coach.”
Porter Martone is certainly having fun these days, as well. The Philadelphia winger is the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to score a goal in each of his first two career playoff games. In fact, both of the 19-year-old’s tallies in this series have turned out to be game-winners.
“I think I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the guys in this room,” Martone said. “They’ve taught me a lot, not just on the hockey side, but the life side. I’ve said this before, but I think I made the jump (from college) because I thought I was ready and I thought I could help this team.”
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh finds itself searching for answers after a pair of lethargic performances.
“There should be frustration. (We) should be frustrated,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “We just lost two games at home. And so, with frustration comes how are you going to respond? How are we going to respond? And so, I would hope every single guy in that room, the entire staff, nobody’s happy right now. Nobody should be.”
Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist in the series opener, but Sidney Crosby has yet to register a point in the series. The Penguins have lost five straight games, including the final three in the regular season.
“I think we’ve been in some tough spots all year,” Crosby said. “We’ve always responded really well to adversity. It seems like it’s brought out the best in all of us. I think that getting on the road and having a situation like this hopefully brings out the best in us again here.”
Stuart Skinner has been strong in net for the Penguins. He turned aside 21 shots in Monday’s defeat, including several terrific saves that helped keep his team within striking distance.
The Flyers’ goals in Game 2 came on Martone’s tally following a blocked shot that caromed right to him, Garnet Hathaway’s finish off a terrific individual effort by Owen Tippett while short-handed, and a late empty-net goal by Luke Glendening.
“Obviously coming in here, to a building like this, and taking the first two games — it’s huge,” said Tippett, who added “we’re staying even-keel. We’re excited to get home to our fans, back home in our rink, but we can’t get too high, can’t get too low.”
The Penguins acknowledge that they need to improve a power play that is 0-for-7 in the series, including an 0-for-5 effort in Game 2.
“They’re doing a good job, and we’re not,” said Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson. “That’s the bottom line.”
