PHILADELPHIA – The Flyers’ Bobby Brink collected four points on Tuesday night off a goal and three assists in a 6-1 win for Philadelphia over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
Samuel Ersson #33 of the Philadelphia Flyers prepares to deflect a shot by Vincent Desharnais #7 of the Pittsburgh Penguins
It was the Flyers’ third straight win.
Samuel Ersson made 23 saves in the win.
“I think the biggest point that I liked about it is I thought we were on our toes,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. “I thought we were on top of them. … Bobby Brink, it’s good to see him get rewarded. Hasn’t scored a whole bunch, but has really worked at the other parts of his game.
For the Penguins, it was their fourth straight loss.
“I didn’t think we played particularly good today, right from the start,” Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “It obviously wasn’t our best night out there. It’s unfortunate. … It’s one of those nights where it didn’t feel like we had much of anything.”
Philip Tomasino was the lone goal scorer for the Penguins.
“It’s hard to win when you don’t manage the puck,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “You turn it over in the wrong areas of the rink and you don’t win a puck battle in any zone. … Listen, the goaltending had nothing to do with it tonight. We simply weren’t good enough as a team.”
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead off a strike by Rasmus Ristolainen in the first period.
Noah Cates scored the first of two on the night to extend the lead to 2-0 in the first.
“I think the break (for the 4 Nations Face-Off) helped,” Cates said. “Before the break, team, personally, kind of just struggling, flat, whatever. No energy. So, really took the break personally. … So now, I think we’re refreshed and we’re excited to come to the rink, get to work and play in these games again.”
Tomasino scored in the middle frame to trim the deficit to 2-1, but the Flyers reeled off four unanswered goals.
Tyson Foerster pushed the lead back to two at 11:55 of the second.
In a 10-secopnd span, Cates and Brink ballooned the advantage to 5-1.
“We’ve kind of strung a couple good games together,” Brink said. “Tonight, just bounces kind of went our way and pucks went in. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Owen Tippett closed out the scoring early in the third frame to make it 6-1 for the final count.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 32 saves in the loss.
“It’s hard to look at these games and say we’ve played well, but we have,” Nedeljkovic said. “Just can’t stop anything right now. It’s pretty frustrating. The guys deserve better.”
Philadelphia Flyers teammates congratulate each other for their win over the Pittsburgh Penguins
Bobby Brink #10 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Noah Cates #27 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett #74 of the Philadelphia Flyers scores on a pass he received from teammate Sean Couturier #14
Bobby Brink #10 of the Philadelphia Flyers receives congratulations from his teammates for his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period.
Scott Laughton #21 of the Philadelphia Flyers and Blake Lizotte #46 of the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare for a face-off.
Travis Sanheim #6 of the Philadelphia Flyers and Philip Tomasino #53 of the Pittsburgh Penguins battle for the loose puck.
Philip Tomasino #53 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period.
Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Samuel Ersson #33 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Matvei Michkov #39 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks for the puck to rebound off the pads of Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Noah Cates #27 of the Philadelphia Flyers scores against the Pittsburg Penguins in the first period.
Philip Tomasino #53 of the Pittsburgh Penguins carries the put towards goalie Samuel Ersson #33 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sean Couturier #14 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Philadelphia Flyers is congratulated for his goal in the opening minutes of the game against the Pittsburg Penguins.
Philadelphia Flyers Rasmus Ristolainen #55 slap shot slides between the pads of goalie Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins
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