After Three Extra Periods, Penguins, Flyers Still Tied

The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins were tied, 1-1, after three overtimes Thursday night in the longest playoff game in Flyer history and the longest home game in Penguin history.

When the game moved into the fourth overtime--at about 1:25 a.m. EDT--it became the 10th-longest game in NHL history.

Alexei Kovalev scored the Penguins’ goal at 2:22 of the first period before one of the NHL’s most proficient offensive teams slipped into an unaccustomed defensive mode in front of goaltender Ron Tugnutt, who stopped 56 of the Flyers’ first 57 shots.

The Flyers, in danger of falling behind, 3-1, in the best-of-seven series, tied the score on something of a fluke goal in the third period.

They were 0 for 16 on the power play in the series before John LeClair redirected Eric Desjardins’ shot from the right point--apparently with his helmet.

As so often happens in long playoff games, each team took turns dominating the offensive play in overtime.

The Flyers got nearly all of the good chances in the first overtime, with Daymond Langkow missing off the crossbar with 30 seconds gone. The Penguins subsequently had nearly all of the better chances in the second overtime, with Kovalev missing off the right post at 1:40--exactly the same shot he missed in the Flyers’ 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3.

The third overtime featured a rarity--three power plays, two by Pittsburgh, but neither team could score. The Flyers had six shots during their power play and 13 in the third overtime.

Jaromir Jagr, the offensive star of the first three games of the series with five goals, was clearly off his game.

He missed the Penguins’ pregame skate, complaining he did not feel well, and was so fatigued at times he could barely stand on his skates.

The longest previous Flyer overtime playoff game was a two-overtime victory over St. Louis on April 16, 1968. It was the second four-overtime game in Penguin history; the first was a 3-2 victory over Washington on April 24, 1996, decided by Petr Nedved’s goal in the final minute of the fourth overtime.