Trevor Zegras scored the game-winner in the shootout and Dan Vladar made 20 saves and stopped all three shootout attempts to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the host Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Alex Bump, who helped lead Western Michigan to its first NCAA hockey title in 2025, scored a goal in his NHL debut for the Flyers. Owen Tippett and Denver Barkey also scored for Philadelphia, which won for the fourth time in its last five games while also presenting head coach Rick Tocchet with a win in his 700th game as an NHL coach.
Zegras, who also had an assist, improved to 6-for-9 in shootout tries this season. He slowly crept down the slot before firing a wrist shot into the top left corner past goaltender Stuart Skinner’s blocker side in the second round for the only shootout score.
Rickard Rakell collected a goal and an assist, Egor Chinakhov had two assists and Erik Karlsson and Tommy Novak also scored goals for Pittsburgh. Skinner stopped 12 of 15 shots for the Penguins, who lost their third straight game and fell to 1-9 in shootouts.
Pittsburgh jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the three-minute mark of the first period on a power-play goal by Novak, who one-timed a shot from the high slot past Vladar’s glove side.
Philadelphia tied it just 54 seconds later on Tippett’s one-timer inside the right post off a Zegras crossing pass.
Rakell put the Penguins back in front at the 3:38 mark of the second period with a wrist shot through traffic from the top of the right circle past Vladar’s blocker side.
The Flyers responded just 68 seconds later on Bump’s wrist shot from the right circle.
Pittsburgh went back in front, 3-2, on Karlsson’s one-timer from above the left circle inside the near post.
Barkey, crossing in front of the crease, tied it midway through the period with a backhand shot into the top right corner.
–Field Level Media
