Flyers snap Pens’ 12-game winning streak

Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA

There’s a new points leader in the NHL.

The Philadelphia Flyers ended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 12-game winning streak and took over first place in the Atlantic Division and in the NHL overall with a workmanlike 3-2 victory Tuesday night before a roaring sellout crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers’ power play struggled mightily, but it connected when it mattered the most, getting a goal by Scott Hartnell to snap a 2-2 tie with 10 minutes, 6 seconds left.

Chris Pronger fired a shot that appeared to deflect off Hartnell’s body and over the shoulder of stunned goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

It was Pittsburgh’s first regulation loss since a 7-4 defeat to Boston on Nov. 10. The Pens had been on a 14-0-1 run and were trying to set a franchise record with an eighth straight road win.

Instead, the Flyers, who are one point ahead of the Penguins, extended their run to 8-1-3 and their points streak to six games. They have won three of four meetings against the Penguins this year, and all three victories were by 3-2 scores.

Brian Boucher made 21 saves as the Flyers improved to 20-7-5. They were 15-16-1 at the same point last season.

Evgeni Malkin scored a pair of power-play goals for Pittsburgh, which had a six-on-four late in the game but was stymied by the Flyers’ penalty killers.

The Flyers outshot the visitors, 37-23.

A sensational goal by the much-maligned Nik Zherdev gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead with 7:32 left in the second period.

James van Riemsdyk hit Zherdev with a pass in the neutral zone, and the speedy winger raced into the Penguins end and undressed defenseman Brooks Orpik with a gorgeous move in the left circle. Zherdev circled to his right and fired a shot from the low slot over the right shoulder of goalie Fleury for his 10th goal.

Zherdev, who spent most of the night on a line with Jeff Carter and van Riemsdyk, had been a healthy scratch in the Flyers’ previous game, a 2-1 overtime win in Boston on Saturday. He played last night instead of Jody Shelley, who began serving a two-game suspension.

During their previous 12 games the Penguins had never trailed heading into the third period.

But the Flyers gave their cross-state rivals an uphill battle.

Just because they took a long winning streak into the game, the Penguins weren’t an overconfident team.

“Every game against Philadelphia is always intense, and there’s always a little bit of something extra, especially with the way the two teams are now,” Penguins All-Star Sidney Crosby said before the game.