A playoff series is a rollercoaster of emotions. But Game 6 was its own version of the Steel Phantom. It was a game that featured four lead changes, 13 total goals, a historic four-goal, five-point game from Guentzel, a historic three-goal, five-point game in a loss for Sean Couturier and more plot twists than a Spanish telenovela.
The Flyers appeared to be in complete control after Scott Laughton buried a slap shot to give Philadelphia a 4-2 lead with just 7:46 remaining in the second period. But if this series has taught any lessons, it's to expect the unexpected.
Pittsburgh roared back with two goals of its own, first from returning Patric Hornqvist, who was wearing an "A" as an alternate captain in place of the injured Evgeni Malkin. That strike answered Laughton in 81 seconds.
Guentzel would score his first of four straight goals with 54 seconds remaining in the middle frame to enter the second intermission all even at 4-4.
"The resiliency we showed after they went up 4-2, it was huge," said Hornqvist, who missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury. "That turned the whole game around. In the intermission between the second and third, we just had a good feeling in this (locker) room that we were going to do it and we took over the game and won the series."
The Pens hit the gas pedal at the start of the final period as Guentzel scored 30 seconds after the puck dropped to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 lead. But it was Guentzel's third and fourth goals - scored 10 seconds apart to set a franchise record for fastest two tallies by one player - that ended the series.
"To come back from two (goals down) during the second I think was really big," Guentzel said. "And just kind of a blur of a third period how it all happened."
That specific 10-second blur gave the Pens a 7-4 lead with 7:02 left in regulation. The tally sent the sold out crowd of 19,861 heading for the parking lot. There weren't many left to witness Couturier notch his hat trick tally with 2:53 remaining. And even though Pittsburgh had a 7-5 lead, nothing was safe in this series.
It wasn't until Bryan Rust, Mr. Elimination himself, scored an empty-net goal with 31 seconds left that sealed the game, and the Flyers' season.
Amazingly, Pittsburgh won all three games on the road while going 1-2 at home. This despite the Pens being the NHL's best home team and one of the worst on the road. That's how insanethis series was.
The key was Pittsburgh's superior offense. Even without Malkin, who finished fourth in the NHL with 98 points in the regular season, Pittsburgh managed to post eight goals in Game 6. The Pens scored 28 goals in the six-game series, which also tied a franchise record.
In many ways, Game 6 was a microcosm of the entire series. It was a series in which the Pens scored seven, one, five, five, two and eight goals respectively. Maybe the only thing that was consistent was Pittsburgh putting up points.
"Going into the series you didn't think it was going to be as high scoring as it was," said captain Sidney Crosby, who posted six goals and 13 points in the series. "It turned out that way and we found a way to be on the right side of it."
