Penguins rout Flyers 10-3


April 18, 2012 at 10:42p.m.

Penguins rout Flyers 10-3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pushed to the brink of a sweep, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal pushed back with a vengeance, helping the Penguins score nine goals in the first two periods in a 10-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday in their opening-round playoff series.

Staal had a hat trick, Malkin scored his first two goals of the series and Crosby added one to help the Penguins cut the series deficit to 3-1. Game 5 is Friday in Pittsburgh.

Marc-Andre Fleury settled down after a shaky first period and had his best game of the series, easily outplaying counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Flyers led 3-2 when the Penguins reeled off seven straight goals to win the most lopsided game of the series.