PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A fluke goal and impressive comeback weren't enough to end Pittsburgh's winless streak.
Mike Rathje scored a power-play goal 3:17 into overtime, leading the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-5 victory over the Penguins on Friday night.
Maxime Talbot's goal from the other side of center ice with 8:03 left in regulation completed Pittsburgh's rally from a four-goal deficit, but the Penguins (0-1-4) couldn't pull out their first victory in their fourth consecutive overtime game.
Shortly after the Penguins killed Philadelphia's two-man advantage in the extra session, Rathje took a slap shot that bounced in off the crossbar.
``We definitely can't let them come back from a 5-1 hole,'' Flyers forward Peter Forsberg said. ``We have a few things to work on.''
Simon Gagne had two goals and two assists, and Keith Primeau, Joni Pitkanen and Derian Hatcher also scored for Philadelphia, which won for the second time in four games.
Sidney Crosby, John LeClair, Ryan Malone and Dick Tarnstrom also scored for Pittsburgh.
``We really got to work on making ourselves accountable earlier,'' LeClair said. ``We put ourselves behind the eight-ball and it makes it a tough game.''
The Penguins, who fell behind 5-1 early in the second period, tied it when Talbot, after winning a faceoff, flicked a shot from beyond center ice that bounced off unaware goaltender Antero Niittymaki and in for his first career goal.
Talbot said he was just dumping the puck into Philadelphia's zone for a line change.
``I turned around ready to change and the guys were like, 'It's in! It's in!'' Talbot said.
Niittymaki said he was watching a replay on the video screen and didn't see the shot.
``It was a stupid mistake,'' he said. ``It won't happen again.''
The Penguins closed within 5-4 when Tarnstrom scored during a two-man advantage 5:20 into the third. Malone and Crosby scored 57 seconds apart in the second period, and Pittsburgh had a goal early in the third disallowed.
Penguins goaltender Sebastien Caron made an outstanding, sprawling save with 1:11 left to preserve the regulation tie. After a shot hit the post, Caron, while laying flat on his back, reached around and gloved a rebound shot by Brian Savage.
Primeau and Pitkanen scored to put the Flyers ahead 2-0 in the first. LeClair's goal with :03 left in the first cut it to 2-1. But Gagne answered with a pair of goals early in the second.
Forsberg set up both with nifty passes, and finished with four assists for nine this season. Forsberg slid a crossing pass to Gagne, who one-timed a shot from the side of the net into the top corner.
Just 2 1/2 minutes later, Forsberg and Gagne played give-and-go around Zigmund Palffy, with Gagne scoring on a wrister for his sixth goal. Caron replaced Marc-Andre Fleury in net after the goal.
``He's the best player in the world,'' Gagne said of Forsberg. ``He's amazing one-on-one. I just try to get open. I know at some point he will find me.''
Gagne and Hatcher broke in short-handed midway through the second. Hatcher took a pass from Gagne and his shot deflected off defenseman Ric Jackman's skate into the net to give the Flyers a 5-1 lead.
LeClair, a five-time All-Star in 9 1/2 seasons with the Flyers, and Mark Recchi, whose second stint in Philadelphia lasted five-plus seasons, played against their former team for the first time since signing with the Penguins in the offseason.
Notes: Hatcher played his first game for the Flyers. He sat out a three-game suspension for elbowing Calgary's Matthew Lombardi in the head during the 2004 playoffs when he played for Detroit. ... Flyers RW Turner Stevenson left after reinjuring his right hip that forced him to miss a game earlier this week at Toronto. His status wasn't immediately known. ... Recchi and LeClair were on the ice for the opening faceoff. ... The Flyers have sold out all three home games. ... Crosby has two goals and six assists in five games. ... Mario Lemieux got his first two assists of the season.
