Along with the shaky goalie play, paucity of defense and don't-leave-your-seat suspense that defined the first two games in Pittsburgh came a healthy dose of nastiness in Game 3 — brawls, punches, ejections — and the confirmation that these teams really, truly do not care for each other.
Sticks and helmets littered the ice as often as pucks filled the nets. The Philadelphia Flyers' 8-4 victory, which put them on the verge of reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals with a three-games-to-none lead, was bookended by chaos.
A first period that featured 18 penalties and 3 ejections devolved into third-period mayhem. James Neal's blindside hit on the Flyers rookie Sean Couturier sparked a series of scuffles at the 15-minute-18-second mark that produced 55 penalty minutes and ended with Scott Hartnell and Craig Adams dueling at center ice.
During the stoppage, Flyers fans chanted: "You can't beat us."
Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, ejected in the first period with Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang because they fought after an altercation elsewhere on the ice, said that it was disappointing that the game deteriorated into fight-filled madness, but that he had seen the same thing happen in other series.
Of the Penguins, who outnumbered Philadelphia in game misconducts (4-2) and penalty minutes (89-69), Timonen said: "If they think they're going to win that way, it's not working for them. Hopefully, they do it one more time."
That the series, which until Sunday was dominated by two remarkable Philadelphia comebacks, turned from guile to bile should come as little surprise. A late-game brawl on April 1 prompted Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette to call Dan Bylsma, his Penguins counterpart, gutless. The Flyers assistant Craig Berube called Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin dirty players.
Crosby, the target of boos and obscene chants for much of the game, initiated a mad skirmish Sunday by trying to whack the puck out of Ilya Bryzgalov's glove after play had been stopped, then pushing away the glove of Jakub Voracek, who was trying to grab the puck off the ice.
"I don't like him," Crosby said. "I don't like any guy on their team."
The feeling in the Flyers' dressing room is likewise, although they demonstrated a greater sense of discipline. Neal defended his hit on Couturier by saying he did not see him.
There will be no such protection for the Penguins' Arron Asham, who is probably facing a suspension for cross-checking Brayden Schenn in the face, then punching him as Schenn lay face-down on the ice. Asham received a match penalty.
On the ensuing power play, Matt Read scored the first of his two goals. The Flyers' special teams were again a key, producing four goals — three on the power play and one short-handed.
Over three games, the Flyers have scored 20 goals — 17 against Marc-Andre Fleury. So wobbly was Fleury that Brent Johnson replaced him at the start of the third period, with the Penguins trailing, 6-4.
The first shot Johnson saw — if he saw it at all — beat him high to the stick side, a one-timer by Claude Giroux off a pass from Jaromir Jagr.
The Flyers, viewed as underdogs entering the series, are now one victory from sweeping their intrastate rivals. PREDATORS 3, RED WINGS 2 Defenseman Shea Weber scored early in the first period and Nashville held on at Detroit. The Predators lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one.
Weber smashed Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass at the end of Game 1, and the crowd at Joe Louis Arena booed him whenever he touched the puck. Weber was fined $2,500 by the N.H.L. for the hit.
Zetterberg scored with 54 seconds left to pull the Red Wings to a goal behind, but they could not force overtime. (AP)
BLUES GOALIE SIDELINED St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak will miss Game 3 of the series against the San Jose Sharks on Monday because of a lower-body injury. Coach Ken Hitchcock ruled Halak out of the road game after the goalie took a hard hit from his careening teammate Barret Jackman in a 3-0 Blues win on Saturday night. The series is tied at a game apiece.
Brian Elliott stopped all 17 shots he faced to complete the shutout for St. Louis. He will start Game 3. (AP)
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