NHL Recap: Feb 20, 2013 – Pens – Flyers Classic, Kings Sweep Through Alberta
There were only 3 games on the NHL schedule on Wednesday night, but one of them was an exciting rematch from a very entertaining first round playoff series last spring.
February 20, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds (17) fights with Pittsburgh Penguins center Tanner Glass (10) during the first period against at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Philadelphia Flyers won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
- In a carryover from their epic playoff series of last year, the Flyers upended the Penguins in an exciting, roller coaster 6-5 win. Jakub Voracek scored his first career hat trick, including the game winner with 91 seconds remaining. After falling behind 2-0 on goals from Matt Niskanen and Evgeni Malkin, Philadelphia scored 4 times to take a 4-2 lead (Nicklas Grossmann, Wayne Simmonds and 2 from Voracek) early into the third. After Tim Kennedy and Simmonds exchanged goals to make it 5-3, James Neal and Brandon Sutter scored for the Penguins to tie it up and set the stage for Voracek’s winner that stole a point from the Penguins. There were 13 power plays, double minors, a fight (Simmonds and Tanner Glass), and each team had 32 shots in what is an early candidate for game of the year.
- Jaroslav Halak returned to the St. Louis net and allowed one goal on 20 Colorado shots for a good night’s work. Unfortunately, Semyon Varlamov was better, stopping all 33 shots he faced to get the shutout and the 1-0 OT victory. David Jones scored the winner with 16 seconds left in overtime, and the play was actually onside for a change.
- The Kings won their second straight game in Alberta as they matched Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Edmonton with a 3-1 win over the Flames on Wednesday. Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis and Jeff Carter did the damage for the Kings, while T.J. Brodie was the only Flame to beat Jonathan Bernier.