Flyers Blow 3-Goal Lead in OT Loss to Penguins

For the first 29 minutes of Thursday's game, things were playing out very similarly to Tuesday. The Flyers appeared to be in command once again, opening up a 3-0 lead.

A goalie change turned the tide for the Penguins, and the Flyers watched the lead slip away. Evgeni Malkin finished with four points, including the game-tying and game-winning goals as the Flyers fell, 5-4, in overtime against the Penguins.

The Flyers picked up where they left off on Tuesday just two minutes into the game. It was the same line contributing. Noah Cates scored off a rush for his 13th goal of the season to make it 1-0.

The Flyers opened up an 8-1 lead in shots before Pittsburgh closed the gap to 8-6 by the end of the period. Sam Ersson made two outstanding saves late in the period to preserve the lead, showing off the reflexes to rob Kevin Hayes on a rebound, then stopping Sidney Crosby from alone in front.

The Flyers added to the lead just 1:44 into the second. Owen Tippett fired a shot from distance that hit Ryan Shea and went in for his 18th goal of the season to make it 2-0.

The Flyers appeared to take a 3-0 lead at 6:13 on a deflection by Andrei Kuzmenko, but it was waved off immediately and the call was upheld after review. Just 1:11 later, Matvei Michkov put a rebound off the endboards into the net for his 18th goal of the season to make it 3-0.

That was the end of the night for Alex Nedeljkovic, who exited with 12 saves on 15 shots.

The goalie change had the desired result for the Penguins early. Less than two minutes after Michkov's goal, the Penguins were on the board off a turnover, with Philip Tomasino scoring on a nice move for his ninth goal of the season.

Just 30 seconds later, Erik Karlsson scored off a face-off to make it a one-goal game.

Less than a minute later, Bokondji Imama delivered a blindside hit on Garnet Hathaway that left Hathaway staggered and needing assistance to get off the ice. It was initially ruled a major for Imama, but reduced to a minor after review.

On the ensuing power play, the Flyers restored the two-goal lead. Michkov picked up his second of the game and 19th of the season to make it 4-2.

With 1:43 remaining in the period, Karlsson added his second of the period to cut the lead back to one.

Through two periods, shots were 22-20 Flyers.

Just 2:30 into the third, the Penguins got the game tied up. Malkin finished off the rush to make it a 4-4 game with his 11th of the season.

Malkin struck again in overtime, getting the puck on a two-on-one, stopping, and firing a low-blocker shot to beat Ersson and give the Penguins the win.

Ersson made 20 saves on 25 shots in the loss. Joel Blomqvist made 21 saves on 22 shots in relief for the win.

Michkov had three points and Tippett had two points. In addition to Malkin's four-point game, Karlsson had three points.

The Flyers are back on the ice on Saturday night, taking on the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m.