PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The scrum, then fists, finally a melee began at 4:33 of the second period. The Pittsburgh Penguins turned a 1-0 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers into a 3-1 game deficit from which they could never recover, and 5-2 loss bringing them to a 3-0 series deficit from which very, very few have ever recovered. <\/p>\n
Yet the Penguins have one player who helped lead a charge on hockey\u2019s biggest stage down 3-0 to force a Game 7. In the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers pummeled and embarrassed the Edmonton Oilers for a 3-0 series lead before Connor McDavid carried his team and goalie Stuart Skinner became unbeatable to force Game 7, (which they ultimately lost 2-1). <\/p>\n
That situation was not entirely dissimilar to the current predicament in which Skinner and his new team, the Penguins, find themselves. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a resilient group. I can say that over and over and over again, but we\u2019ve proven it. We\u2019ve shown it,\u201d said Skinner. \u201cYou know, this is the group that can definitely come back from this deficit. I certainly believe that. I\u2019ve personally done it\u2013to be able to go to Game 7. You know, it\u2019s possible. Statistics are fun to look at, bbut that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re always right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, that Edmonton team also faced an opponent which used every whistle as the start of physicality rather than the end of it, and looked unbeatable. No one watching the 2024 Stanley Cup Final thought a comeback was possible. <\/p>\n
And yet, it was. <\/p>\n
In NHL history, only four teams have rallied from down 3-0 in a series to win. The 2010 Flyers did so, overcoming the Boston Bruins to reach the Eastern Conference Final. Including those four, there have also been 10 teams that fought back to force a Game 7, including that Edmonton team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I draw on a lot (from that experience). The playoffs are intense. There\u2019s a lot of pressure, lot a lot of noise going on everywhere. I feel like when you go down 3-0, what really helped me, in my experience, was it kind of just frees you up,\u201d Skinner said. \u201cYou don\u2019t really have anything to lose, and we\u2019re in a spot where we don\u2019t have anything to lose, and they do, you know, if we catch them a couple times, then again, just talking about momentum, you know, you can change momentum, and when that happens, things can go in your favor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The emotion in the Penguins\u2019 room following the Game 3 loss was anything but sullen. There was indignation, if not anger, and plenty of incredulity espoused in the room, but also unmistakably worn on their faces. <\/p>\n
\u201cTurned in a bit of a WWE match in the second period, and they kind of fed off that,\u201d said Bryan Rust, who pummeled Flyers winger Travis Konecny after Konecny elbowed him, for which Rust received an extra penalty, which led to a tied game, 1-1. <\/p>\n
Through all the chaos, the power play count was even until the Penguins earned a couple of third period advantages, scoring on one. Amidst the carnage was also consistent interference preventing the Penguins\u2019 forecheck, but the focus on the melee overrode any such complaints. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, they also have to be in a position to defend themselves. It\u2019s after every, almost every whistle or shot,\u201d said Muse Wednesday night. \u201cSo we\u2019ve got to focus on what we can control. We want to play between whistles. I think our guys were working to do that, but it\u2019s after. Every time.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so, facing elimination, the Penguins have an extra day in Philadelphia before Game 4 Saturday to contemplate their path and their fate. Perhaps the Penguins found their rallying cry in the earned anger of feeling shortchanged by referees. Or perhaps the anger earned in shortchanging themselves as it took them into Game 3 before they humbled themselves to solve the Flyers\u2019 defensive posture with a simple game, only to have the Flyers drag the game into the gutter. <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, we know what they\u2019re about. We know what to expect,\u201d said Rust. \u201cWe\u2019ve just got to do a better job of managing those emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crosby spoke with a directed anger, even as the words belied his demeanor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much room for error when you\u2019re in this position. That\u2019s the reality. The fact is, we\u2019ve got to win a game. That\u2019s going to be our focus. We can\u2019t grab three (wins) on Saturday,\u201d said Sidney Crosby. \u201cSo we\u2019ve done some good things. We had some good zone time. We got the power play going tonight, so hopefully we can put a full game together here in Game 4.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Philadelphia flyers<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> stuart skinner<\/a> <\/p>\n