Here are the areas we highlights in the Game 4 win. Go through it again and check off how many that could also apply to Game 5:
-Sidney Crosby dug deep, embodying a ‘whatever it takes’ mentality on a two-point night
-Kris Letang scored a goal, and beyond that played well over 23 minutes
-Pittsburgh won the goaltending battle for the first time, thanks largely to Flyer goalie Dan Vladar coughing up a goal from behind the net but in no small part to Arturs Silovs playing his first game this playoff and
performing very well
-The penalty kill was perfect, the power play was far from it but did score one goal
-Game sequencing mattered; the Penguins had a good start, scored first and never let the Flyers tie the game up again
Aside from the fact that Philadelphia did briefly tie the score at 2-2, almost everything else that was key in Game 4 showed back up again in Game 5. Sidney Crosby grabbed two more points. Kris Letang scored another goal (and this time played almost 25 minutes). Dan Vladar was the victim of another crazy play (this time more of a bad bounce than an outright mistake, but the Penguins aren’t parsing how it happens at this point) while Arturs Silovs was solid. The PK was perfect again, though the Flyers only had two chances on it thanks to better discipline.
In short, Game 5 looked a lot like Game 4, and because of it there is now a Game 6 scheduled.
There was even more to like on a deeper level for the Penguins. Natural Stat Trick had 5v5 high danger chances at 12-5 in favor of Pittsburgh.
Those 12 chances are the most the Pens have generated at 5v5 in a game this series. They only had 11 combined 5v5 high danger chances in Game 3+4. Pittsburgh was able to get back to their speed game more last night. Whether it’s been chipping and chasing the puck, as seen on the early goal by Elmer Soderblom or stacking up long, grinding shifts that eventually wears the Flyers down like the Connor Dewar goal, Pittsburgh is finding a lot more life in their offensive game.
As we touched on the recap, it’s not just been better from the blueline in, it’s become easier to get there. The Flyers had the neutral zone almost completely stifled in the early games of this series. As time has gone along, the Penguins have started to crack the code, often by starting the puck one way than once the forecheck shifts towards that side of the ice then making a pass to the back-side and taking advantage of the extra room exposed. That’s been giving them more speed through the zone, creating decisions on how to enter from that point.
The Penguins still have absolutely no margin of error and face another must win game tomorrow in Game 6. They’ve been able to show some fight and put a scare into the Flyers now with the way the last two games have gone, now we’ll see if they can do it one more time and bring the series back to Pittsburgh again. If a lot of the elements from Games 4 and 5 show up again in Game 6 then they just might have a chance.
