The Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night, 5-2, in a game that would have tied the Pens for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers are now four points up on the Pens and have a game in hand, so Philadelphia looks very likely to claim both the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division crowns. And since division winners get the top three seeds in the conference, the Penguins now appear likely to win the No. 4 seed, which right now would give them a first-round matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Alex Kovalev opened the scoring midway through the first period, but after that, It wasn’t the best night for Marc-Andre Fleury. Jeff Carter’s shot late in the second period bounced off Fleury and into the net, tying the game at one. Tyler Kennedy gave the Pens a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, but Scott Hartnell (on the power play) and Claude Giroux scored in quick succession for the Flyers to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. In the third period, Ville Leino scored two goals, one of which again bounced off Fleury and into the net.
The Pens’ next game is on Thursday against … well, actually, it’s against the Lightning, in what could be a preview of the Pens’ first-round playoff matchup.