Flyers rally past Penguins in shootout, 2-1, as Carter Hart shines

Trying to revive his team’s moribund offense, Flyers coach Alain Vigneault scrambled all four lines Thursday and inserted rookie right winger Wade Allison into the lineup as he searched for a spark.

Allison was impressive in his NHL debut, but it was goalie Carter Hart who upstaged the new-look attack as the Flyers rallied past the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout, 2-1, at PPG Paints Arena.

Sean Couturier scored the winner in the shootout, and Hart stopped 31 of 32 shots as the Flyers won for just the second time in their last six games and snapped the Penguins three-game winning streak.

Hart snapped a personal seven-game losing streak, and, after Jake Guentzel started the shootout with a goal, he made huge stops on Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.

The Penguins controlled the overtime, getting five of the six shots.

“In the overtime, we were not the better team; they had the better looks,” Vigneault said. “Carter kept us in it and gave us a chance.”

Claude Giroux and Couturier made filthy moves to score in the shootout.

“Oh, man, that was pretty ridiculous,” Hart said. “That move by G there, and then Coots -- I thought he ran out of room there, and then he shelves it. That was the first time I’ve seen him do that one. Those are both really skilled plays and they’re skilled players.”

The Flyers killed Travis Konecny’s holding penalty, which was called with 2 minutes, 52 seconds left in regulation. The Pens returned the favor, killing Sidney Crosby’s tripping penalty with 1:57 remaining in overtime.

Hart kept the game tied at 1-1 when he stopped Evan Rodrigues as he tried to finish a two-on-one -- the Penguins fifth odd-man rush of the night -- with 7:16 remaining in regulation.

“I’m feeling good,” Hart said after his first win since March 18, a 4-3 victory over the Islanders. “For me, (the key) is having fun. Tonight was huge to get the two points and the extra one in the shootout. The last couple, we weren’t really getting the extra point.”

The Flyers remained six points behind Boston, which has two games in hand, for the East Division’s final playoff spot.

Jake Voracek scored from the high slot with 18:36 left in regulation, putting a shot through goalie Tristan Jarry’s legs to knot the score at 1-1.

A little less than two minutes later, Flyers defenseman Phil Myers whipped a shot that inadvertently hit the side of teammate’s Nolan Patrick’s head. Patrick, who missed all of last season with a migraine disorder, went to the locker room for repairs.

After the game, Vigneault said he talked to Patrick, and the 22-year-old center said he felt fine.

Vigneault had to scramble his lines again after Patrick left the game and didn’t return.

Earlier, former Flyer Jeff Carter, acquired Monday and playing in his first game for the Penguins, burst around defenseman Justin Braun and went in alone but was stopped by Hart with 19:07 left in the second period.

The Penguins had nine shots in the first 4:56 of the second period -- after managing just three shots in the opening period.

Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead as Crosby raced up ice, grabbed a stick from the bench -- he had given his stick to defenseman Brian Dumoulin down the other end -- and scored after Hart’s failed clear with 15:04 remaining in the second. It gave the Penguins’ star 111 points, including 46 goals, in 75 career games against the Flyers.

Allison, looking like the Flyers’ hungriest player, was denied by Jarry who made a sliding save on the big right winger while the Flyers were on a power play with 7:34 left in the second. (Later in the period, Allison was again stopped from in close.)

“For a player coming in and not having a practice with us, I thought for the most part he played as described ... strong on the puck, goes to the net, had some opportunities tonight,” Vigneault said of Allison, who tied Joel Farabee with a team-high four shots. “It was a good start for him.”

Pittsburgh was playing its first game since Sunday, and the Penguins looked rusty in a sleepy first period in which the teams combined for eight shots, including five by the Flyers.

The bitter state rivals have been trending in different directions. They were tied with 27 points apiece the previous time they met.

But the Penguins had opened a 12-point lead over the Flyers heading into the night. Pittsburgh entered Thursday on a 15-4-1 run, while the Flyers had lost eight of their last 24 (8-13-3).

Hart, however, looked like, well, the 2019-20 version of himself Thursday as, aside from the miscue that led to a goal, he shut the door on the high-scoring Penguins.