Game 6: Pens 5, Flyers 1

Flyers think they're fly but Sid flys higher.
Penguins- 5
Chris Kunitz (Crosby) 1-11:31
Mark Letestu (Letang, Martin) 2-19:15
Sidney Crosby (Malkin, Comrie) 3-3:13
Sidney Crosby (Letang Goligoski) 3-4:37
Matt Cooke (Dupuis) 3-16:36
W- Johnson (29-30)
Flyers- 1
Daniel Briere (Hartnell, Carter) 1-6:43
L- Bobrovsky (27-31)
RECAP
The dominant chant all night long in Philadelphia (when they weren't busy booing the youth hockey player of the night off the ice) was "Cros-bee-sucks! Cros-bee-sucks!" This was absolutely true, but they forgot the 2nd half of the phrase. It should read "Crosby sucks...the life out of our team!" Sid was in his typical "Flyer-killing" form on Saturday, tallying up 2 goals (both on powerplay) and an assist to captain his Penguins past their hated rivals across the state. This was a huge win for the Pens, who tied the Islanders for the division lead and kept the momentum rolling from their home win last night. This really was a great week for Pittsburgh, grabbing 6 out of a possible 8 points and moving from dead last to a tie for 1st in the Atlantic Division.

Chris Kunitz got things kicked off for the Pens, beating Bobrovsky to tie the score at 1. Mark Letestu scored a very late goal in the 2nd period to give the Pens the momentum as well as the lead which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Matt Cooke also contributed an empty netter late. Brent Johnson looked solid yet again, and now things may start to get interesting in the media. The game was a bit rougher than the last meeting between the 2 teams, with an assortment of roughing calls and post-whistle scrums and a feature event between Mike Rupp and Jody Shelley. The Flyers fans (most of them were wearing Phillies gear) had plenty to boo about during the game yet that still wasn't enough, and they seized the opportunity to boo when the youth hockey mite of the night in Philadelphia announced that he wanted to grow up and play for the Penguins. It appears that he made the right choice.

Game Changing Play

Letestu's goal with 45 seconds left in the 2nd period was a crucial blow to the morale of the Flyers and turned out to be the game winning goal.

Grades

Offense- B+ Looked a hell of a lot better against this kid than they did last time.

Defense- B Bend but don't break. Gave up shots, but not many genuine scoring opportunities.

Johnson- A- Don't look now, but Brent is on a roll!

Powerplay- B+ Still had their problems, but they have Sid and that was good enough to cash in twice.

Penalty Kill- B+ Gave up an early one, but then bounced back nicely.

3 Big Points

-I don't want to say just yet that Fleury's job is in jeopardy, but it must be noted that Johnson was given the start for both games of the double-header and both times he delivered. I'm sure Fleury will get more opportunities, but now the pressure is REALLY on him to step it up. 3-0 looks a lot better than 0-3.

-Mark Letestu and Alex Goligoski are really becoming regulars on the scoresheet. It's these kind of contributors along with the big nights of guys like Sid and Geno that are the building blocks for championship-caliber teams.

-Pens defense looked good tonight but they are still really noticeably missing the services of Orpik and Michalek. Get well soon guys.