Sean Couturier's OT goal lifts Flyers over Penguins 2-1
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 04: Sean Couturier #14 of the Philadelphia Flyers (C) scores at 3:54 of overtime against Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins and is joined by Travis Konecny #11 (L) and Travis Sanheim #6 (R) t the Wel
PHILADELPHIA - Sean Couturier scored 3:55 into overtime to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
Tyson Foerster scored in regulation for Philadelphia.
Sidney Crosby became Pittsburgh’s all-time leading scorer against the Flyers when he tallied late in the first period.
The Penguins have lost five of seven and seven of 10.
Philadelphia won the first leg of a home-and-home set with the Penguins 4-3 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh when Couturier netted the only tally in the shootout.
"These are huge games, big rivalry," Couturier said. "Two big wins for our team."
It only went to overtime this time, as Couturier finished a 2-on-1 with Travis Konecny, beating Alex Nedeljkovic with a one-timer that went just past his left pad and inside the post.
"Nice setup," Couturier said. "Everything just worked out perfectly. Huge win."
The winning goal was one of several good chances the Flyers had in the contest.
"When you give teams those kinds of looks, it's hard to win," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "Easy offense."
The Penguins also had some scoring opportunities in the extra session but couldn't find the net.
"We just didn't get it done," Sullivan said.
Crosby finished a 2-on-1 with Jake Guentzel with 46 seconds left in the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. The goal gave him 54 tallies and 125 points in 85 contests against Philadelphia, passing Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for most points against the Flyers for a Pittsburgh player.
Foerster answered midway through the second with his fifth goal of the season to tie it. Konecny passed to Foerster open in the slot, and he fired a hard wrist shot high over Nedeljkovic’s right shoulder.
The Penguins had several strong scoring chances late in the period, but Carter Hart stood tall in goal for the Flyers. Nedeljkovic later made a great left pad save on Joel Farabee’s attempt with two minutes left in the period.
Both goalies made 31 saves.
"Really good goaltending," Flyers coach John Tortorella said of Hart. "We're doing all those things we have to do. We're just going to continue doing that and see where it goes."
Konecny twice had breakaway chances on the Flyers’ penalty kill, but Nedeljkovic denied both.
Both teams had quality chances in the third period. Hart made the best save of the frame when he snared Marcus Pettersson’s slap shot with a stellar glove save.
The Penguins were 0 for 3 on the power play and now have gone 29 straight opportunities on the man-advantage without a goal.
The teams meet twice more this season, Jan. 8 in Philadelphia and Feb. 25 in Pittsburgh.
UP NEXT
Penguins: At Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Flyers: At Arizona on Thursday night.