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Flyers-Penguins swirled into chaos Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Travis Konecny sniped in his 200th career goal for the lead, a weird bounce let the ever-beloved Sidney Crosby tie it to force overtime, a would-be winning goal got disallowed on each side in the extra frame, then at the horn, a heated scrum saw Crosby and Trevor Zegras both draw misconducts that barred them from the shootout after a lengthy delay – leaving the Flyers without one of the best shootout players in the league and the Penguins without one of the best players in the world. Matvei Michkov scored off a nasty move in the shootout, Bobby Brink scored off an even nastier one, and then Sam Ersson stayed poised and shut the door again for the second straight game. In the end, the Flyers won a thrill ride, 3-2. In a vacuum, they're 5-3-1, have won two straight and four of their last five, and have built up a considerable advantage at home early with a 5-1-0 record in Philly. In the bigger picture, their greatest rivalry, which has been in a downswing for both sides these past few years, feels like it has some juice again. There were momentum swings and chances aplenty, tension brewing, frustration boiling over, words exchanged, and a few punches thrown. Is it back to the days of 2012, when booming hits were getting thrown across open ice, followed by fists flying, coaches jawing and climbing on top of the boards to get at one another, and with Hulk Hogan lookalikes chirping from behind the glass? No. Not yet, at least. But for a Tuesday night in October, it did feel like a rivalry again. It felt like everyone was watching Flyers-Penguins, with everything that used to mean. And for a rebuilding Flyers team, and even a Pittsburgh club that's trying to get the most out of whatever it has left of the Crosby era, that means something. That's promise. That's progress, even if both sides aren't necessarily at full tilt right now. "Obviously it's a rivalry for a reason, right?" Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler said from the locker room postgame. "They have a really good hockey team. They've been playing well this year, so that's just two competitive teams that wanna win. "I loved it at the end. It's something that's in our game, and I thought we rose to the occasion. It's good." Which is another important development for a still-young group that came into this still-young season looking to take a tangible step forward on the ice this year. The Flyers took the lead, then lost it. They thought they had the winner on Tyson Foerster's stick in overtime, but then they didn't. The night took various turns, things didn't go their way, and then they went from chippy to full-on scrappy. But the Flyers didn't fold. They stuck with it, and together. "There's not a lot of panic," head coach Rick Tocchet said of his team. "Listen, we got a ways to go, don't get me wrong, but I feel that when the pressure hits, we're starting to deal with it a little bit inch by inch each game." It reflects in the results. Through the Flyers' nine games so far this season, six of them have been decided by either one goal or the shootout round. They're 3-2-1 across those games. However, three of those last four have been wins – in overtime against the Wild on Oct. 18, then in the shootout against the Islanders on Saturday and the Penguins on Tuesday night, all at home. MORE FLYERSFlyers prospect check: Porter Martone is taking off at Michigan StateFlyers thoughts: The Trevor Zegras gamble is paying offFlyers thoughts: Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, Bobby Brink never missed a beat, remain their best line They're by no means perfect, and every player and coach in that locker room will be the first to say it. But in the early going, they're fighting to find a way, and for one another once the pushing and shoving after the whistle starts. "I think it's that pack mentality," Tocchet said. "You know, you eat together as a pack. If you're the lone wolf, you're done. But the pack lives. They have a chance to outlive. "I think it's philosophical if anything, but I just believe in that stuff, right? So whether it's Trevor Zegras jumping or [Nic Deslauriers], it seems like everybody's jumping in to help out. We're preaching discipline, too. We're not being stupid. I just think we're sticking together, and I think that's a good thing." For a rebuilding team, and for a rivalry that needed some juice again. SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
