Flyers extend series with late Game 5 goal against Penguins

PITTSBURGH-- Sean Couturier scored a tiebreaking goal with 1:15 left in the third period, and the Philadelphia Flyers avoided elimination with a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.

Couturier shot from inside the blue line, past a screen from Scott Laughton, to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Couturier, who leads the Flyers with four points (two goals, two assists) in the series, did not play in Game 4 on Wednesday because of a lower-body injury sustained in practice.
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"I felt good," Couturier said. "Once you get going, the emotions and the adrenaline kind of takes over. Just trying to do whatever I could to help. Thought it was a good team effort. … It's one game. We're still down, but we've battled all year.
"We have to keep battling next game and play the same kind of mentality game. It was a road game. We didn't put a show on, but we kept it tight and found a way to win."

Philadelphia trails the best-of-7 series 3-2 and will host Game 6 on Sunday.
Matt Murray made 21 saves for the Penguins, who led 2-1 late in the second period.
"The elimination game is probably the hardest game of them all," Murray said. "I thought we had a pretty good game today and we just have to stick to our mindset. Keep on our toes and keep doing what we need to do."
Michal Neuvirth made 30 saves for the Flyers in his first start since Feb. 16.
"I felt all right. I was battling all 60 minutes," Neuvirth said. "We had a great first period, then took some penalties in the second. But we finished strong and we were really happy with the win. … I like playing in the playoffs, like facing the pressure, but it's only one game and we came here to win a hockey game. We did that. Now we have to win the next one."

Neuvirth preserved the 3-2 lead after a puck bounced to Sidney Crosby near the right post. He slid over to make a glove save with 52 seconds remaining.
"He made some huge saves," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "At the end of the third period, being able to go across. When he plays cocky, he's pretty good."
Valtteri Filppula tied it 2-2 with a shorthanded goal at 18:15 of the second period. After Murray failed to hold a shot by Jori Lehtera, Filppula beat Kris Letang to the puck and scored through Murray's five-hole.
Giroux gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the series at 17:29 of the first period. Jakub Voracek took the puck away from Jake Guentzel behind the Penguins net before setting up Giroux for a one-timer from the right circle.

Giroux had gone 11 playoff games without a goal, dating to April 29, 2014, when he scored against the New York Rangers.
Bryan Rust tied it 1-1 at 12:00 of the second period when he wrapped a backhand around the right post. Guentzel made it 2-1 at 16:45 off an assist from Crosby.
Matt Read scored into an empty net with 18 seconds remaining to make it 4-2.
"I don't think we got dominated by any stretch," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We had opportunities to put more pucks at the net. I didn't think we did it."

Goal of the game

Couturier's goal at 18:45 of the third period.

Save of the game

Neuvirth's save on Crosby with 52 seconds left in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Rust's goal at 12:00 of the second period.

They said it

"[Couturier] being in the lineup gives a boost to everybody just because of what he means to our hockey team. At the end of the day, it comes down to going out and doing the job. He did that." -- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol
"I think [urgency] came in the second. I don't think it was there in the first. We took a while to get into it, and even with that, we had a great second. Unfortunately we give up that goal [to Filppula] late." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby

Need to know

The Flyers have outscored the Penguins 9-3 in their two wins. They've been outscored 17-1 in their three losses. ... Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist (upper body) missed a second straight game and is day to day. ... Crosby has five goals and five assists, the third time he has had at least 10 points in a playoff series. ... Neuvirth was 2-1 with an 0.67 goals-against average and .981 save percentage when he last started for Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, against the Washington Capitals in the 2016 first round.

What's next

Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS)