Penguins 4, Flyers 1: In other news…

The Cutter Gauthier trade dominated the headlines Monday night, but the Philadelphia Flyers also had a game to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Unfortunately, the Flyers couldn\'t pull out a win over their cross-state rival, losing by a score of 4-1 at Wells Fargo Center.

The Basics

First period: 00:45 — Rakell (Malkin, Guentzel), 07:37 — Karlsson (Harkins, Carter), 14:55 — Tippett (Zamula, Farabee)

Second period: 08:07 — Ruhwedel (Rust, Graves)

Third period: 04:29 — Malkin (O\'Connor)

Takeaways

The power play lives

The Flyers\' power play is awful, and the addition of Egor Zamula to the top unit likely won\'t fix that. But the Flyers have netted a power-play marker in back-to-back games, and Zamula contributed to both of them.

The latest came late in the first period after Jansen Harkins was assessed a tripping penalty. Zamula put his patience with the puck on full display, gathering a Joel Farabee feed at the point and slowly creeping toward the high slot before dishing the puck to Owen Tippett for the primary helper. It wasn\'t the flashiest play, but it worked.

Saying the Flyers\' power play is on a heater is something of an oxymoron, but the Flyers don\'t score power-play goals in back-to-back games very often, so by their standards, it is absolutely on a heater.

https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1744521928751063518

Hart was solid despite what the stats say

His numbers may not have looked great, but Carter Hart did everything within his power to keep the Flyers competitive against Pittsburgh. Hart allowed four goals while being peppered with 39 shots in Monday night\'s loss. The Penguins generated high-danger chances throughout the tilt, and Hart did a good job of keeping the game from getting completely out of hand.

Vintage Flyers-Penguins fireworks

The Flyers\' first two tilts against Pittsburgh this season were largely civil. Not too much pushing and shoving. Extracurriculars were limited.

Monday night was very different.

Guys were punching each other in the face with their gloves on, barking at each other in the penalty box and facewashing after the whistle. Kris Letang was even bleeding from his forehead after taking a stick up high from Nic Deslauriers during a post-whistle melee.

https://twitter.com/BroadStHockey/status/1744544442952892909

The Flyers-Penguins rivalry certainly doesn\'t have the venom it once did a decade or so ago. The Penguins have remained one of the NHL\'s juggernauts while the Flyers have faded into obscurity since then. But Monday night proved the hatred isn\'t completely gone.

Talking Points