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The Philadelphia Flyers’ Claude Giroux holds on to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby as Crosby and teammate Kimmo Timonen square off during the first period of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. More fists were flying than shots on goal during the fight-fraught afternoon, which ended with the Flyers pummeling the Penguins on the scoreboard, 8-4, and jumping out to a three-game lead in the series.
Flyers throttle Pens for 3-0 series lead
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA
Fists were flying faster than shots on goal on Sunday. Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux even became knotted in the pushing, pulling and shoving, a pair of superstars willing to mix it up to prove which team was the baddest on the ice and the scoreboard.
The Penguins and Flyers talked trash, laid the smack down, and played one wildly entertaining game. The result was still the same.
The Flyers rallied from another early deficit for a decisive Game 3 victory that placed them on the brink of an improbable sweep.
Danny Briere, Matt Read and Max Talbot each scored two goals to lead Philadelphia to an 8-4 victory over Pittsburgh in a fight-filled game in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Giroux and Wayne Simmonds also scored to help the Flyers take a 3-0 lead in the combustible best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The Flyers scored 20 goals in the first three games.
“Our goal is to finish it right away,” Briere said.
The goals might be hard to find on a highlight reel. This one was all about the brawls more suitable for a UFC card. Three players were tossed in the first period. There was a rare fight between superstars when Crosby squared off against Giroux.
No one got the better end of that scrap. But by the end, Flyers fans serenaded the Penguins with booming chants of “You can’t beat us!”
“All three games were kind of weird games,” Giroux said. “I guess I like weird games because we always finish by winning.”
Jordan Staal and James Neal scored twice for a Penguins team pushed to the limit by its hated, intrastate rival. Marc-Andre Fleury was benched after allowing six goals in two periods. He has allowed a whopping 17 goals in the first three games.
Coach Dan Bylsma said Fleury would start, “the next four games.”
Hard to imagine at this rate, especially with NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin (109 points) yet to score a goal for the Penguins.
The Flyers played a postseason video that billed their run as the “Fight to the Cup.” They never expected a first period that would have left those old Broad Street Bullies smiling.
Each team had their top defenseman — Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang and Philadelphia’s Kimmo Timonen — tossed. So was Penguins forward Arron Asham.
But the scene ripped straight out of the pages of Ripley’s came when Giroux and Crosby went at it against the backboard.
“In the end, that’s really playoff hockey,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. “A couple of the best players in the world dropping the gloves going at it. Would I rather have G keep his gloves on? Sure. But when he’s fighting Sidney Crosby, that’s playoff hockey. That’s this series.”
Crosby ignited the scrum when he twice jabbed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s glove against the ice. Giroux, third in the NHL in points this season, shoved Crosby from behind. Crosby, clearly not caring about his history of concussions, retaliated by shoving Giroux’s head against the glass.
While the 20,092 fans dressed in their matching Hulk Hogan-inspired orange T-shirts roared, Timonen and Letang exchanged shots, and Voracek and Pittsburgh’s Steve Sullivan each were penalized for roughing.
Timonen and Letang were both hit with 5 minutes for fighting and were ejected because they were assessed a major penalty after the original fight had started.