Penguins 6, Flyers 2
PITTSBURGH -- Matt Murray made 28 saves to win for the second day in a row, Sidney Crosby scored yet another goal against Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh Penguins remained the NHL's hottest team, defeating the Flyers 6-2 Sunday.
The Penguins, already assured of making the playoffs, won a season high-tying sixth in a row and 12th in 13 games to cool off the Flyers, who were on a 13-3-2 surge that elevated them to the Eastern Conference's No. 2 wild-card position.
Eric Fehr scored the final two goals with Pittsburgh up big in the third period and Beau Bennett, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin also scored for the Penguins, who got at least one goal from each of their four lines while opening leads of 3-0 and 4-1 against goalie Steve Mason. They've scored 31 goals during their six-game run.
Winning their third in a row against the Flyers after dropping eight straight to them, the Penguins reached the 100-point mark for the 10th time in franchise history. They also opened up a five-point edge over the New York Rangers for the Metropolitan Division's No. 2 playoff position and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
The Flyers, previously 10-2-1 at Consol Energy Center, couldn't win their fourth in a row and stayed two points behind the idle New York Islanders in the race for the conference's top wild-card spot.
Murray, coming off his first career shutout Saturday against the Islanders, was solid in improving to 7-2-1 during his rookie season, although Wayne Simmonds ended his 122:05 scoreless streak by scoring in the final minute of the second period. Jakub Voracek also scored for Philadelphia.
The NHL's two hottest teams were playing their second games in as many days, but it was the Penguins who looked a step ahead from the start in an in-state rivalry that's suddenly tilting their way.
Crosby, who torments the Flyers like no other NHL player, got it going with his first goal in four games - and his first power-play goal in 30 games.
With Wayne Simmonds off for hooking Crosby, Phil Kessel threw the puck on net and Crosby backhanded it past Mason, who came in on a 9-2-2 run. It was Crosby's 33rd goal in 55 career games against Philadelphia, and his 33rd of the season.
But while Crosby was the NHL's player of the month in March, a player largely missing from the Penguins' lineup for months - Bennett - made it 2-0 only 1:05 later.
Bennett, who has had two long injury layoffs this season that have limited him to 32 games, beat Mason in close with a wrist shot at 16:43 of the first - his first goal since he scored both Penguins' goals in a 2-0 win at Colorado on Dec. 9, and his sixth of the season.
Hornqvist increased the lead to 3-0 by scoring for the third consecutive game midway through the second, collecting a rebound of his own blocked shot in the slot and throwing it under the crossbar at 10:34 - his ninth goal in 19 games and 21st overall.
Murray, working on his second shutout in as many days, finally gave up a goal with 41.2 seconds left in the period when Simmonds scored his 29th of the season on a wrist shot from the right circle.
NOTES: The Pittsburgh Penguins, already qualified for a 10th consecutive playoff appearance, played their final home game of the regular season. They finish with games at the Senators, Capitals and Flyers. ... Penguins C Evgeni Malkin, still out indefinitely, missed a 12th consecutive game with an upper-body injury. ... Penguins rookie G Matt Murray started for the second day in a row because G Marc-Andre Fleury is out indefinitely with his second concussion of the season. ... Similarly, Flyers G Steve Mason also played for a second successive day and the eighth time in 15 days because of backup G Michal Neuvirth's lower-body injury. ... By making the playoffs, the Penguins will send their first-round draft pick to Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel trade. The Penguins get back the second-round pick sent to the Maple Leafs last year as part of the Daniel Winnik trade. The Maple Leafs currently have two picks in each of the first four rounds. ... The Flyers scratched C Jordan Weal, C R.J. Umberger, LW Scott Laughton, D Evgeny Medvedev, G Ray Emery and Neuvirth. The Penguins held out D Derrick Pouliot, and the injured Fleury, D Olli Maatta and RW Bryan Rust.