Flyers fall in overtime to Penguins as Sidney Crosby scores his 500th career goal

PITTSBURGH — Despite getting on the board first and scoring more goals in regulation than they have in two months, the Flyers could not get past the No. 1 team in the division, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on Tuesday night.

Fueled by Sidney Crosby’s 500th career goal, the Penguins overcame a two-goal deficit to win, 5-4, in overtime, and extend the Flyers’ losing streak to three games. Kris Letang scored the game-winner for Pittsburgh 31 seconds into overtime.

“This one stings, to be honest with you, because the game’s there, and ... it felt like we just gave them opportunities,” said Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo, who worked with the Penguins for 11 years.

For the first time in three games, the Flyers got on the board first, thanks to Claude Giroux’s goal 13 minutes, 47 seconds into the first period. But the momentum didn’t last long, and the Penguins responded 22 seconds later when Dominik Simon tipped in Marcus Petersson’s shot. They took the lead later in the period on Crosby’s power-play goal.

In a three-goal second period for the Flyers, Scott Laughton’s unassisted wrist shot from the right faceoff circle evened the score less than a minute in. Defenseman Nick Seeler, who came in for injured Rasmus Ristolainen, scored the go-ahead goal with a shot from the point. It was his first goal this season and third point in three games.

Justin Braun, whose penalty set up the Penguins’ second goal, made up for it by scoring the Flyers’ fourth goal of the night. It was the first time the Flyers had scored four goals in regulation since Dec. 14, when they scored six on the New Jersey Devils.

“I think that we came out with the right attitude,” Yeo said. “We came out with the mindset that we want to take the fight to them.”

But after holding strong against an onslaught of shots, Carter Hart let up two goals in 18 seconds in the third. The Penguins tied the game with 7:06 to go.

While his team has been racking up losing streaks, Laughton has been quietly been on a roll. With his second-period goal, Laughton now has seven points in six games and is on a six-game streak. He has 10 points in his last 12 games.

With injuries up and down the Flyers roster, Laughton has seen an increased role this season. He started as a wing on the third line but now centers the second line. He rose to the occasion and said it has fueled his confidence. Laughton, who has been an alternate captain in Sean Couturier’s absence, is now on pace for 18 goals and 40 points. His points per game (0.49) represent the second-best average of his career.

Laughton’s line with Travis Konecny and James van Riemsdyk has been productive as a whole recently. In the last six games, it has scored four goals. Laughton scored two of them and assisted on the third. Tuesday night, they had eight shots on goal. Van Riemsdyk assisted on the fourth goal.

“TK and Reemer are two really good players to play with,” Laughton said. “We’ve been feeding off each other. But at the end of the day, if you don’t win games, it doesn’t really matter about the points.”

Ahead of Isaac Ratcliffe’s NHL debut, he said he hoped he could provide a spark to the struggling Flyers team. Since Ratcliffe entered the locker room, the Flyers have gone 2-2-1.

As every player who is called up does, Ratcliffe also hoped to prove he belongs at the NHL level. For his first four games, he spent time on the fourth line where his size added to Connor Bunnaman’s and Zack MacEwen’s to make the line a physical force. Ratcliffe scored his first NHL goal on that line.

However, with injuries mounting, Ratcliffe was given the chance to move up a line to play with Morgan Frost and Max Willman on the third. He seized it. Early in the first period, he made an impression when he set up an opportunity for Frost, who couldn’t quite reel it in.

Ratcliffe came close again in the second period when the Flyers were down, 2-1, and went on the power play. Ratcliffe still showed his youth with an unforced turnover and four minutes spent in the penalty box. But despite playing on the third line for the first time, Ratcliffe looked the most comfortable and productive out there.

“We’ll address [the penalties] with him, and if he can show that he can improve on that, then that, for me, is just a young player learning how to perform at that level at that time,” Yeo said. “But I do think that he was a little more aggressive and assertive than some other guys out there. So a little bit of good and a little bit of some things to work on.”

Pittsburgh fans showed up in force to watch Crosby score his 500th goal and to see him do it against the in-state rivals. Braun’s penalty set up goal No. 500 perfectly.

With 4:09 left in the first period, the No. 11 power-play unit in the NHL took the ice. Evgeni Malkin was at the point and found Crosby just to the left of the net. Crosby took the wrist shot and notched the milestone goal.

Crosby has scored more goals against the Flyers than any other team, and Tuesday’s was his 50th. Crosby said during the intermission he didn’t know that it was his 50th against the Flyers but that he always has fun playing them.

It was Crosby’s first goal against the Flyers in the three games this season. It was 118th career point against them.

“Obviously, we didn’t want him to score,” Hart said. “But kudos to him. He’s one of the best, if not the best players of this generation. So, I mean, the guy’s a really skilled player. And playing against him is a lot of fun, and you want to play against the best. He’s one of the best players, and you’ve got to play hard against him every time.”

The Flyers return home to host the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. Thursday.