BOX SCORE
Words alone dont do justice to the repugnant display of playoff hockey Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
All the Flyers had to do to close out their series and earn themselves at least a week of time off to lick their wounds was show up and play a decent game. Win one and its over.
Instead, the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing as if the world ended tomorrow (which it would have for them) simply tattooed the Flyers and every person who dared go in net.
The series is going back to the Burgh for Game 5 on Friday after the Penguins 10-3 rout, their first win in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal which is now led by the Flyers, 3-1.
Dan Bylsmas Pens played without five regulars in their lineup while going with seven defensemen and yet at no point did you feel that any lead was safe against them.
And it wasnt.
NHL
Flyer goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was brutal, coughing up five goals on 18 shots before being replaced by Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period.
He was just as bad, giving up four goals on 11 shots before the period was even over.
You might say Peter Laviolettes boys jinxed themselves by scoring firstsomething they had not done in the entire series. They had to play from ahead and they were awful in doing so.
Bryzgalov left rebounds everywhere in the opening minutes as the Pens had a sense of urgency in their play that was expected from a team down 0-3 in the series.
Unlike Sundays Game 3 where there were 18 penalties in the first period, the two teams changed things up a bit. There were seven penalties and seven goals with Pittsburgh leading at intermission, 4-3.
All three Flyer goals that period were on the power play. Claude Giroux got one at 1:16 into the game, then Kimmo Timonen had a 5-on-3 power play goal and Jakub Voracek had a 5-on-4 at 15:52 as the Flyers led 3-2. But Bryz couldnt hold it.
The final four minutes of the period saw the Penguins get a deflected goal from Sidney Crosby, then an open rebound in the slot from Jordan Staal.
In between, Bryzgalov lost a rebound in his pads to Evgeni Malkin, who finally scored in the series, and allowed Matt Niskanens first ever playoff goal on a Pens power play that gave them an early 2-1 lead.
At least the Flyers had the Pens where they wanted themahead in the game after one period.
The Flyers penalty killers had done a very good job of containing the Penguins power play, but not in this one. And not with Bryz.
Laviolette yanked Bryzgalov 3:07 into the second on a rocket shot from the circle by Kris Letangwho was flying with Brooks Orpik in Game 4 -- to make it 5-3.
Bobrovsky came in and Staal greeted him with his second goal of the game, also on the power play as the Pens began to pull away.
The Flyers began the middle period on the penalty kill and it remained that way for one-half of the period. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh unloaded with three power play goals and an even-strength goal.
It was 9-3 heading into the final period with Staal earning a hat trick and Zac Rinaldo having assured himself a phone call from the league office while getting tossed for unnecessary warfare on Zbynek Michalek.
By then, plane reservations back to Pittsburgh were already booked.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.