Well, the Flyers Sure Know How to Beat Pittsburgh

Report From Philadelphia Flyers

* The Flyers picked up their eighth consecutive win over the Penguins and swept them in a season series for the first time since the 1983-84 season, when they went 7-0-0.

* With a goal and an assist, Jakub Voracek (79 pts)moved within two points of Sidney Crosby (81 pts) for the NHL scoring lead.

* Michael Del Zotto tied his career high in goals today, scoring his 10th goal of the season… He has recorded points in four of his last five games, for six points (1g-5a) in that span.

* Brayden Schenn has six points (3g-3a) in his last three games.

* The Flyers were outshot 47-20. The last time the Flyers allowed 47 shots in a game was on April 1, 2012 whey they allowed 47 to the Penguins in a 6-4 win at CONSOL Energy Center. The last time they allowed that many at home was December 20, 2008 when they allowed Washington 48 in a 7-1 victory. Antero Niittymaki made 47 saves in that win.

* In that same December 20, 2008 game, the Capitals outshot the Flyers by 19 (25-6) in the first period. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, that was the last time the Flyers had been outshot by 18 or more shots in a period before the Penguins outshot them 22-4 in the first period today.

* Steve Mason made 46 saves, marking the second time this season he’s done that. He also made 46 saves in a 1-0 shootout loss at NYI on November 24. It’s tied with that game for the third-most saves in his career, and it’s the most he’s had in a regulation game since November 19, 2010 when he had 47 saves for Columbus in a 4-3 win at Anaheim.

* The Flyers were outshot by 27 overall, one week after being outshot by 26 vs. San Jose. The last time that happened was on October 18, 2008 when San Jose outshot the Flyers by 28 (45-17) in a 5-4 San Jose overtime win in California.

* Sunday’s game was the 18th time since the 1987-88 season that the Flyers allowed 46 or more shots, and just the sixth time they’ve won.

* Nick Schultz was credited with seven blocked shots.

* Claude Giroux was 16-for-24 (67 pct) on faceoffs.

GAME RECAP

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers, already mathematically eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention, could only play spoilers on Sunday. They did, and it left their cross-state rivals reeling and potentially locked in a much closer race than they thought they’d be in.

Steve Mason made 46 saves and the Flyers offense was powered by goals from forwards Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Ryan White, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at Wells Fargo Center.

Voracek, Schenn, and Del Zotto scored power play goals; White scored at even-strength in the third period.

The Flyers have won eight in a row against the Penguins dating back to last season.

More importantly for Pittsburgh, though, is the fact that it has lost three in a row and is 3-8-1 in its past 12 games. The slump, which has featured two regulation losses to Philadelphia, has put the Penguins in dangerous territory when it comes to the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins are still in position to be the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, but the Ottawa Senators can close to within one point of Pittsburgh and the Boston Bruins with a win Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.

Pittsburgh and Boston are tied with 95 points through 79 games played, but the Penguins currently hold the first wild card because they have one more regulation/overtime win (ROW), which is the first tiebreaker after games played. Ottawa has 92 points through 78 games.

The Penguins play at the Senators on Tuesday.

Brandon Sutter scored a power-play goal for the Penguins, who lost despite outshooting the Flyers 47-20. Thomas Greiss made 16 saves.

Voracek scored the game-tying power-play goal at 19:18 of the first period. Schenn gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead at 12:20 of the second. White scored off a feed from Sean Couturier at 15:05 of the third period to make it 3-1.

Couturier drew the penalties that led to the Flyers’ first two goals. He was cross-checked in the back by Daniel Winnik at 18:31 of the first period and hooked by Blake Comeau at 12:02 of the second.

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who returned after missing two games with an undisclosed injury, hit the left post when shooting at an open net with 7:35 remaining in the third period and the Flyers still leading 2-1. Penguins forward Nick Spaling also hit the post 30 seconds after Schenn gave the Flyers the lead.

The Flyers had a 2-1 lead after two periods despite being outshot 36-13.

The Penguins had a 22-4 edge in shots on goal in the first period, but the game was tied at 1-1 because Voracek scored a power-play goal with a one-timer in the final minute of the period.

Flyers defenseman Mark Streit delivered the pass to Voracek, who scored his 22nd goal of the season from the right circle.

Schenn gave the Flyers the 2-1 lead in the second period with his 17th goal of the season.

Schenn scored from the high slot, redirecting Voracek’s pass off the wall by chipping it up and over top of Greiss and the defense. The puck bounced into the net before Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy could swipe at it.

Voracek picked up his 57th assist to tie with Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom for the NHL lead. He is two points behind Penguins captain Sidney Crosby in the Art Ross Trophy race.

Crosby was held off the scoresheet Sunday.

Sutter had given Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead with his power play goal at 16:21 of the first. It was set up by forward David Perron.

Perron received the puck from defenseman Ian Cole at the goal line and came up the left-wing wall to create space before passing it to Sutter, who had occupied Perron’s spot on the goal line to the left of the goal. Sutter swept the puck into the far side of the net, underneath Mason’s stick and to the right of his left pad, for his 19th goal of the season.

The Penguins not only outshot the Flyers 22-4 in the first period, they also had a 32-12 advantage in total shot attempts and won 13 of 20 faceoffs. The Flyers tightened up in the second period, but Pittsburgh still outshot them 14-9 and had a 27-21 advantage in total shot attempts.

Mason was particularly strong early in the game. He made a diving glove save on Penguins forward Craig Adams at 5:51. Adams hasn’t scored in 60 straight games. Mason also used his left pad as a flipper to make a save on Sutter from the slot at 12:46.