The Penguins got a much-needed win over the Flyers on Sunday, but it wasn’t pretty, and they lost another key player. Here’s Paul Steigerwald.(7-6 win.)
With Jake Guentzel already on the injured list, Crosby lost his other winger, Rust, and coach Mike Sullivan said afterward that Rust was being evaluated for an upper body injury after he left the game with 13:14 left in the third period.
In addition to Rust scoring twice and Crosby once (on a four-point night for him), the Pens got goals from newly-acquired forward Emil Bemstrom on a power play, Drew O’Connor, Rickard Rakell, and Kris Letang.
Coach Mike Sullivan says the Pens didn’t let down when things weren’t going their way.
The coach says the analytics show the Penguins are getting their chances and, finally, on Sunday they converted them.
Sullivan loves having Bryan Rust on the Penguins’ roster.
Sidney Crosby says it was good to get a win, despite a leaky defense.
Crosby says every game is important in the tight Eastern Conference playoff chase.
The Pens’ captain has 129 points, including 55 goals, in 87 career games against the Flyers. That’s the most by any player against the Flyers in league history. He says Penguins/Flyers is always intense.
The Penguins are tied with the Islanders for fifth in the Eastern Conference Wild Card standings, with only two teams making the playoffs on the Wild Card. They trail Tampa Bay by nine points. They trail the Flyers by seven points for the third slot in the Metro Division standings.
The Pens are off on a four-game western road trip to play four of the toughest teams in the Western Conference, starting tomorrow night against Vancouver, which leads the NHL in points. They will follow that in Seattle on Thursday, then visit Calgary Saturday and Edmonton on Sunday.
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