Murray, Penguins shut out Flyers in Game 4, one win from advancing

PHILADELPHIA -- Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to become the all-time scoring leader for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a 5-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

The Penguins lead the best-of-7 series 3-1. Game 5 is at Pittsburgh on Friday.
Crosby's goal gave him 173 playoff points (62 goals, 111 assists), passing Mario Lemieux for most in Penguins history. Crosby has played 152 postseason games; Lemieux played 107.
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"A lot of his records aren't going to be touched, so the fact that I can be close to him and around that one, I've been fortunate enough to play in a number of playoff games, which helps a lot, but it's nice to be a part of that," Crosby said.
Matt Murray made 26 saves for his second shutout of the series. He made 26 saves in a 7-0 win in Game 1.
Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel each had a goal and an assist.

Michal Neuvirth made 11 saves on 13 shots in relief of Brian Elliott. It was Neuvirth's first game since March 28 because of a lower-body injury.
Elliott allowed three goals on 17 shots in 28:04.
"We're battling hard as a team," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "Just not good enough right now. Next game is really soon here. We need to figure it out."
Flyers center Sean Couturier missed the game because of a lower-body injury sustained during practice Tuesday. There was no timetable given for his return. He leads Philadelphia with three points (one goal, two assists) in the series.
Malkin scored a power-play goal at 4:33 of the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead, and the game turned when Kessel finished a 2-on-1 break with Malkin at 14:37 to make it 2-0.
The goal came after the Flyers had 2 1/2 minutes of sustained pressure.

"They dominated in our zone," Malkin said. "We were tired, but coach said to our line, 'Guys, you need to go on the ice and try to play in the offensive zone.' We jumped on the ice and here's our moment."
Murray did his part too, similar to how he played when the Flyers outshot the Penguins 11-4 in the first period of Game 3 but didn't score a goal.
"They had that one extended shift in the first period, and I thought Matt made a couple of big saves for us," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I also thought when we had the power play and [Travis] Konecny comes out of the penalty box, the breakaway save (with 42 seconds remaining in the first) is a big save for us. When you get those types of saves, it certainly helps your team's chances of winning."
Outside of that push in the first period, the Flyers failed to generate much.
"I don't think we did a very good job of getting through the neutral zone to establish any kind of forecheck," defenseman Andrew MacDonald said. "They seemed to be smothering us there, breaking up plays, preventing us from getting in. It's hard to generate a lot when you're not getting in the offensive zone much."
Kris Letang scored from the left face-off circle at 8:04 of the second to put the Penguins ahead 3-0. The goal gave him 72 playoff points (19 goals, 53 assists), tying Larry Murphy for most by a Penguins defenseman.
Crosby scored his NHL-leading fifth of the series on a wraparound to make it 4-0 at 10:56 of the second.
Riley Sheahan scored at 15:46 of the third to make it 5-0.

Goal of the game

Kessel's goal at 14:37 of the first period.

Save of the game

Murray stopping Konecny at 19:18 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Crosby's goal at 10:56 of the second period.

They said it

"We know it's going to be a tough and desperate team that we're facing. I think you always look to match that urgency, that desperation to get that fourth one. We understand that. We expect a tough game at home, so we have to be ready for that."-- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
"We've faced adversity throughout the whole season, we've had our ups and downs. This is certainly a big down. But it seems like when we have our backs against the wall, it's the most we've responded." -- Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald

Need to know

The first four games of the series have been decided by at least four goals, the third time that's happened in NHL history (Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks in 1995 Western Conference Semifinals; Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks in 1946 NHL Semifinals). … The Penguins have scored at least five goals in seven of eight regular-season and playoff games against the Flyers.

What's next

Game 5 of Eastern Conference First Round at PPG Paints Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, NBCSP)