PHILADELPHIA — This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW.com.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (0-3) are facing elimination. After three increasingly wild games, the Penguins are winless against their hated rival Philadelphia Flyers (3-0), who will try to sweep the Penguins in front of a rowdy home crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena Saturday.
The puck drops after 8 p.m. and Lauren Hart sings the national anthem (or God Bless America).
The Penguins lost Game 3, 5-2, at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday. For the first time in the series, the Penguins had a lead, 1-0. The advantage lasted into the game-changing fracas at 4:33 of the second period. The details and legitimacy of the penalties are a matter of perspective, but the result was a Flyers power play in front of a further amped crowd.
Trevor Zegras tied the game with a power play goal, and Philadelphia scored three goals within seven minutes, which was more than the Penguins could overcome.
Both Penguins goals were power play goals, their first in the series. Evgeni Malkin scored the first goal in the first period, and
There were several refereeing controversies, including the Penguins being shorthanded after the scrap at 4:33. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was called for embellishment for the first time in his 21-year career after being high-sticked by Garnett Hathaway. And there was no discipline, supplemental or in-game, for Flyers winger Travis Konecny for obviously attempting to kick Rust.
The context and residual anger will only add more fuel to the fire Saturday.
At practice Friday, Penguins coach Dan Muse made a few significant changes to the lines. At the top of the lineup, Muse reunited Evgeni Malkin with Egor Chinakhov on the second line, and they will sidesaddle Tommy Novak in the middle.
Muse also appeared ready to reinsert 6-foot-8, 246-pound Elmer Soderblom in the lineup in place of Justin Brazeau, who has played only one game in the series. Soderblom will be back on the line with Ben Kindel and Anthony Mantha.
The other “big” change is inserting 6-foot-3, 208-pound Ilya Solovyov in place of Connor Clifton on the blue line. Solovyov and Shea did not play together often this season, and in the one game Shea could recall, he was on the right side. Friday, Solovyov was on the right in practice.
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