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Jagr, Talbot score in return as Flyers; Pens fall to cross-state rival
Photo
The Philadelphia Flyers’ Jaromir Jagr (68) collides with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Craig Adams (27) in the first period of an NHL game Thursday in Pittsburgh. Jagr and Max Talbot, both former Penguins, each scored a goal to help lift the Flyers over Pittsburgh, 4-2.
Associated Press
Pittsburgh
Jaromir Jagr spent the days leading up to his return to Pittsburgh insisting it wasn’t personal. He stressed that he didn’t mean to cause hard feelings when he signed with the hated Philadelphia Flyers over the summer instead of with the Penguins, with whom he became a star two decades ago.
The Penguins are just another team, Jagr said — no different than Tampa Bay.
Funny, he didn’t play like it.
Seeming to revel in the chance to play the villain, Jagr punctuated his homecoming with his 12th goal of the season in a 4-2 Flyers victory on Thursday night.
“I felt pretty good but I had so many chances that if I would have scored five goals, nobody would be surprised,” Jagr said.
One was enough to prove that the 39-year-old Czech Republic native can still summon breathtaking hockey when he needs to.
Jagr missed an open net in the first period, then atoned late in the second. He took a pass from Claude Giroux in the high left slot, fended off Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik while skating through the zone, and flipped a backhander past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Flyers a lead they didn’t relinquish.
The second-leading scorer in Penguins history briefly raised his arms in triumph, then skated along the boards, offering a stone-faced salute as the Consol Energy Center crowd booed lustily.
“I think it was important for not just him but the whole team to get that goal because he got it pretty tough from the fans,” Giroux said. “But I think he kind of liked it a little bit.”
Jagr wasn’t the only former Penguins player to return in triumph. Max Talbot, who helped Pittsburgh to the 2009 Stanley Cup title, added an empty-net goal in the final seconds as the Flyers remained perfect in Pittsburgh’s new building since it opened a year ago.
Kimmo Timonen and Matt Read also scored for Philadelphia, which ended the Penguins’ four-game winning streak.
“I think the most important thing is we won,” Jagr said. “We won in Pittsburgh, and that’s tough.”
Tyler Kennedy had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, and Jordan Staal scored his 15th of the season, but the Penguins spent most of the night being dominated by their cross-state rivals.
There wasn’t nearly as much animosity for Talbot, who helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2009, scoring both of Pittsburgh’s goals in a Game 7 victory over Detroit. The Penguins put together a brief video montage of Talbot’s time with the team and showed it during an early stoppage in play.
Talbot responded with a wave to the crowd that included one fan hoisting a sign that said, “We still love you Max.”