Flyers 3, Penguins 1
PHILADELPHIA -- When the puck dropped, the Philadelphia Flyers knew that if they beat their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins, they would lock-up a playoff berth.
And thanks to Wayne Simmonds, they did just that.
Simmonds scored two goals for the Flyers and goalie Steve Mason made 18 saves as the Flyers defeated the Penguins 3-1 and clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Thanks to losses earlier in the day by Detroit and Boston, the Flyers needed only two points in their final two games to secure a playoff spot for the first time in two seasons.
The win by the Flyers also snapped the Penguins' season-long, eight-game winning streak, although Pittsburgh (48-26-8, 104 points) will enter the NHL playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL, finishing the regular season on a 14-2-0 clip.
For a while though, it looked like the Flyers were dealing with the same demons of sluggishness that led to three consecutive losses leading into Saturday's game.
Unable to find much energy or jump in the opening period, the Flyers struggled to get quality shots on Penguins goalie Matthew Murray.
Meanwhile, Nick Bonino gave the Penguins the early lead when he took a saucer pass from Carl Hagelin and slid the puck past Mason on a 2-on-1 breakaway.
However, the Flyers took advantage of a cold goaltender to knot the score with only their second goal in the first period in the last 12 games.
After Murray had to leave the game following a collision with Flyers forward Brayden Schenn, backup Jeff Zatkoff replaced him.
A little more than a minute later, Zatkoff saw the goal light flashing behind him after Simmonds tipped Claude Giroux's pass past him for his team-leading 31st goal of the season.
Simmonds wasn't done however, as he was credited with the game-winning goal in the second period when defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere's shot from the point caromed off his hip and past Zatkoff.
From there, the Flyers (40-27-14, 94 points) stifled the Penguins, limiting their chances and holding Pittsburgh to 19 shots for the game.
And when the Penguins did get the odd high-percentage chance, Mason was there to thwart it, with no better save than a sprawling glove stop on Kael Mouillierat mere seconds before Simmonds' tying goal.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added an empty-net goal in the final minute, sending the capacity crowd -- and the Flyers bench -- into a celebratory frenzy.
Following the season finale tomorrow against the New York Islanders, the Flyers will open the playoffs next week against the President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals.
However, while tomorrow's game against the New York Islanders will mean little to the Flyers, the Penguins will watch with great interest as their first round playoff opponent is still to be determined between the Islanders and New York Rangers.
NOTES: The Penguins didn't care how the result of their game impacted the NHL playoff race. They only care about themselves. As such, they came into their final game of the season in Philadelphia and decided not to dress either C Sidney Crosby or D Kris Letang. Although it was the biggest game of the season for Philadelphia, the outcome had no bearing on Pittsburgh, as it had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division. ... Flyers coach Dave Hakstol continued to juggle his lineup looking for the right combination of players to try and help his team stop their longest losing skid since early February. After scratching C Nick Cousins in place of C Scott Laughton against Toronto on Thursday, he once again flipped the forwards. Cousins centered a third line with LW Matt Read and C Sam Gagner continuing to play right wing. ... Despite G Michal Neuvirth declaring himself ready to play, Hakstol stuck with G Steve Mason between the pipes. Neuvirth appeared to have been pulling ahead of Mason for the starting gig in March before injuring his left knee prior to a game against Pittsburgh. He missed nine games, and Mason played brilliantly in his place, and again has a hold on the No. 1 goalie spot. ... Penguins RW Kael Mouillierat, who was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL before the game, made his NHL debut. ... Other healthy scratches for Philadelphia included G Ray Emery, C R.J. Umberger, C Jordan Weal and D Evgeny Medvedev.