Penguins Postgame: Power Play Doom, Reasons for Loss to Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins did not play well. From players and the coach, disappointment bordering on disgust filled the postgame locker room.

Following a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins knew they had let an important four-point game against both a division rival and playoff-spot competitor slip away.

Nuke the Power Play: Get the Penguins report card here.

Despite defenseman Marcus Pettersson’s analysis that “the start killed our energy,” the Penguins had the game in hand. They led in the third period after Jake Guentzel’s first goal of the game. However, the Penguins’ power play yielded a shorthanded goal, followed by a penalty on a subsequent power play that yielded a Flyers power-play goal.

A 2-1 lead became a 3-2 deficit. Only an extra-attacker goal by Guentzel with 21 seconds remaining salvaged a point.

From the abysmal power play to the lack of energy, the Penguins lost again to a Metro Division foe. PHN’s Dan Kingerski breaks down the game in great detail, including what the Flyers did to suffocate the Penguins’ attack and Flyers coach John Tortorella’s golden quote about why the Flyers were the better team on Saturday.