Penguins deal Flyers their fourth straight loss, 6-2

Ravaged by COVID-19 and injuries, the Flyers and their taxi squad-bolstered roster seemingly needed a miracle to overcome the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins, who entered Thursday night’s game on a nine-game winning streak.

That miracle never came.

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After allowing three unanswered goals in the first period at the hands of Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, the Flyers could never claw their way into a game that saw the Penguins emerge victorious, 6-2, at the Wells Fargo Center. Regardless of who’s in the lineup, one of the Flyers’ fatal flaws this season has been giving up the first goal. When their opponents score first, the Flyers’ are 2-13-2.

“I thought we had an OK start,” interim head coach Mike Yeo said. “And then next thing you know, they score a goal. It was just after that, it was like whether we didn’t believe that we could win or whatever the case was, we were not good enough.”

After a sluggish first period, the Flyers seemed revitalized in the second after a failed power-play opportunity led to a Cam Atkinson goal. Derick Brassard, appearing in his first game since Dec. 8, had a couple of prime scoring chances late in the second period, but Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry denied both.

The Penguins poured on the pressure in the third, scoring three straight goals to seal the Flyers’ fate. After a seven-game point streak from Dec. 10 to Dec. 30, the Flyers have lost their last four games.

“We can look at where we’re at right now in the season and we can just sort of accept our fate for the rest of the way and say maybe it’s not our year,” Yeo said. “Bad luck. This and that. And you can do the same thing in a game, or you can fight.

“There’s gonna be times where maybe you don’t get the result that you’re looking for, but you’re gonna go down swinging if that’s the case. And I didn’t think we did that tonight.”

More than halfway through the first period with the game scoreless, winger Morgan Frost was called for holding Dominik Simon’s stick in the Flyers’ zone. The penalty came after the Penguins started to build some offensive momentum, peppering a couple of shots on goal and firing one wide in the moments before. The Flyers would be tasked with killing the Penguins’ first man advantage of the night without crucial penalty killers Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim, as well as face-off expert Claude Giroux, who are all in COVID-19 protocols.

That effort proved to be a steep challenge, as the first four Flyers penalty killers — Atkinson, Cam York, Patrick Brown, and Justin Braun — couldn’t clear their own zone. Sidney Crosby flung a pass from the right corner back to Kris Letang at the point, who found Bryan Rust at the goal line for an easy shot past Carter Hart. That penalty-kill unit was on the ice for nearly a minute, culminating in the goal that put the Penguins up, 1-0. Once the Penguins got the first one, the floodgates opened, as they scored two more unanswered goals in a span of four minutes. When the Flyers are trailing after one period this season, they are 1-10-2.

“We go down by a goal,” Atkinson said. “It shouldn’t be panic mode. Whether you score a goal or get scored on, that next shift is the most important to set the tone and try to get the momentum or maintain the momentum. Obviously, they have a good power play. We didn’t do the job. But that doesn’t mean we need to start cheating and looking for chances and stuff like that.”

Less than five minutes into the second period down three goals, the Flyers went on the power play for the second time. For all two minutes of the minor, the Flyers managed to keep their top unit of power-play regulars — including Kevin Hayes, Atkinson, Joel Farabee, James van Riemsdyk, and Keith Yandle — out on the ice. The five-man group couldn’t manage a single shot on goal, with two of Yandle’s shots blocked and one each by Hayes and Farabee fired wide of the net.

Farabee also fanned on a shot and lost the puck once at the blue line. In their last five games, the Flyers have gone 2-for-15 on the power play for a 13.3% success rate. With their second unit filled with first-timers to the Flyers’ power play, including Zack MacEwen and Cam York, the team needed more from its regulars.

After the second-period penalty expired, Farabee went up the tunnel and obliterated his stick on a series of whacks against the wall. He returned to the bench moments later, brand new stick in hand. Perhaps it was the newfound energy of the fresh twig, or more likely, it was the momentum created by preceding five-on-five scoring opportunities he generated with linemates Atkinson and Scott Laughton, but Farabee quickly shook off the blunders of the power play.

Laughton won a battle for the puck along the boards in the Flyers’ zone, knocking it free into the neutral zone for Farabee to collect. A two-on-one rush developed between Farabee and Atkinson, and Farabee fed Atkinson for a one-timer past Jarry to cut the Penguins’ lead to two. Atkinson now has 10 points in his last eight games (five goals, five assists). Farabee has been very consistent since returning from a shoulder injury on Dec. 18, registering six points (three goals, three assists) in his last six games.

The Flyers continue their three-game homestand on Saturday when they face off against the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).