* It was déjà vu all over again.
The Flyers scored a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation en route to an overtime win on Sunday night, just as they had 3 weeks ago in the Stadium Series in Philadelphia.
And just like in that Stadium Series game, Pittsburgh deserved a better fate.
The Pens were dominant in the opening 2 periods of the game, jetting out to a 26-13 edge in shots and heavily tilting the action in their favor. After Teddy Blueger scored at the 2:07 mark of the third period it seemed a forgone conclusion that the Pens would win.
Instead, the Flyers surged back with a 19-shot period. Their hard work was rewarded when James van Riemsdyk connected for his 5th goal in the past 3 games with 18.8 seconds remaining.
It was a pretty even overtime, though the Pens had the slight edge in play. However, on a 2-on-1 rush, Sean Couturier buried a shot with just 3.4 seconds left in the extra session.
The Pens still stole a valuable point, but it's another time this season that the Pens lost a game they should have won. They haven't been able to put opponents away and finish.
* The only reason Pittsburgh didn't skate away with a lopsided victory was the play of goaltender Carter Hart. The 20-year-old tender made a number of huge saves to keep his team in the contest - including a couple of point-blank stops on Patric Hornqvist and a breakaway by Nick Bjugstad.
In the overtime period, Hart stopped incredible chances from Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin. He made 41 saves on the night, and the Flyers needed every single one of them.
* One of the weirdest sequences occurred early in the second period when there was a changed call on the ice followed by two successful challenges. Claude Giroux's shot slipped through Matt Murray as Jakub Voracek was passing atop the crease. As the shot was coming, Murray was spun around. The referees huddled and made a "no goal" call on the ice due to goaltender interference.
The Flyers challenged that interference ruling. A review showed that it was Pittsburgh's Jack Johnson who contacted Murray's stick and not Voracek. With no goalie interference the refs ruled "goal."
BUT the Pens countered with a challenge of their own for offside on the play. A review showed that Voracek had crossed the blue line prior to the puck. The play was deemed offside and the new ruling was "no goal."
So when it was all said and done, all the reviews canceled each other out. It was all for naught as the Flyers started where they began, with no goal.
* The Pens did not have the services of Evgeni Malkin for the game. In an unexpected event Malkin did not take warmups. After that it was no shock that he was scratched for the game. However, Bryan Rust (lower-body) did return to the lineup after missing 9 games.
Rust's speed was an immediate factor as he had 2 breakaway chances, one being shorthanded.
* With Malkin out, Teddy Blueger took the centering duties for the second line with Phil Kessel and Rust. Blueger made the most of his new role by netting his 4th goal of the season on a rebound opportunity.
* Kessel played in his 319th consecutive game for the Pens - tying Craig Adams for the franchise record (one he will surely overtake in the next game). Kessel has played in 765 straight games overall, and 833 including playoffs.
