Kapanen's two goals help Penguins defeat Flyers without Crosby

PITTSBURGH -- Kasperi Kapanen scored twice to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

Tristan Jarry made 40 saves, and Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (12-8-1), who played without center Sidney Crosby after he was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Tuesday. Pittsburgh has won five of its past seven games.
The Penguins canceled their morning skate Tuesday after learning of Crosby's status and didn't practice Monday following a 2-0 loss at the New York Islanders on Sunday.
"It was a challenge," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "Obviously, those are difficult circumstances. They're unexpected circumstances. But as I said to the players, all we can do is focus on the game and control what we can. We tried to keep our focus on hockey and the players that were in the lineup tonight."

Joel Farabee scored twice, and Carter Hart made 22 saves for the Flyers (11-5-3), who had won three in a row. They play here again Thursday and Saturday.
"[Pittsburgh] played hard tonight and they won a few battles that gave them real good opportunities," Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said. "Give them credit and full marks on that. Couple plays from our side that we needed to be better at. We weren't. We're going to have to regroup, refocus here and get ready for the next game."
Farabee gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 2:32 of the second period. He carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed to Sean Couturier, who sent it back to Farabee for a snap shot near the right post.
Kapanen tied it 1:07 later on a breakaway after intercepting a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere. He froze Hart by faking a slap shot and made it 1-1 with a snap shot at 3:39.
The goal ended Philadelphia's shutout streak at 160:11. The Flyers, who shut out the Buffalo Sabres in each of their past two games, had not allowed a goal since New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider scored at 3:27 of the third period on Feb. 24.
Kapanen gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 8:41 of the second when he scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot set up by a cross-crease pass from Jake Guentzel. He scored at least two goals for the first time since Feb. 12, 2019, when he scored two for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Colorado Avalanche.
"I thought the team really stepped up today," Kapanen said. "Thought we played one of our more complete games. … It was a really good game for us."

Rust made it 3-1 at 10:45 by scoring through the five-hole on the rebound of a Kris Letang shot.
"You have to just roll with the punches," Rust said. "I have to give a lot of credit to the guys. Everyone came ready to play. They knew the circumstances, and I think a lot of guys stepped up today."
Farabee poked the puck in after Jarry couldn't glove a shot from James van Riemsdyk, cutting it to 3-2 at 11:00 of the third period.
"Tonight, they just didn't go for us," Farabee said. "So we've got to regroup here. We're playing these guys twice more in a row here. We have to come out with a better effort."
Cody Ceci extended Pittsburgh's lead to 4-2 at 12:08 by scoring off a pass from Mark Friedman above the crease.
Mike Matheson scored into an empty net from beyond the red line at 16:06 for the 5-2 final just after Hart started to skate toward the bench for an extra attacker.
The Flyers were 0-for-5 on the power play, are 0-for-10 in their past three games and 3-for-30 in their past seven.
"We had our chances on the power play," Gostisbehere said. "We had a lot of shots. Odd bounces in hockey. Could've gone any other way."
NOTES: Flyers forward Travis Konecny returned after missing five games while in NHL COVID-19 protocol. He had two shots in 15:46 of ice time, including 4:31 on the power play. … Friedman and Josh Currie each made his Penguins debut. Friedman, a defenseman claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia on Feb. 24, had an assist and two hits in 10:25 of ice time. Currie, a forward, did not have a shot in 7:24. It was his first NHL game since April 4, 2019, for the Edmonton Oilers.