Cam York scored with 2:30 left in the first overtime to propel the Philadelphia Flyers into the second round of the playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
After winning the first three games of the best-of-seven series, the Flyers lost Games 4 and 5 and struggled to find their offensive footing for much of Game 6. However, York’s first career playoff goal came at the perfect time, sending Philadelphia into a second-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Following a faceoff win in the offensive zone, York unleashed a wrist shot from the right point that got through traffic, hit off the right post, and skipped past Arturs Silovs. Silovs finished with 31 saves, while Dan Vladar turned aside 42 shots for his second shutout of the series.
Silovs had big stops on Owen Tippett and Porter Martone in the first period. Both teams had one power play in the session, but neither team was able to dent the scoreboard.
Pittsburgh had another man advantage in the early portion of the second period, but Vladar and the Flyers held firm.
Shortly thereafter, Matvei Michkov skated in on a breakaway, only to have his wrister denied by Silovs. He nearly scored again on the same shift, but Silovs beat him to the post.
Philadelphia opened the third period with a power play after Kris Letang punched Travis Konecny at the end of the second period. But the Flyers’ man advantage was uneventful and the game remained scoreless.
With about 12 minutes left in regulation, Vladar made a confident stop against Egor Chinakhov on an offensive rush. A couple of minutes later, Silovs made a flashy glove save on Michkov.
Pittsburgh pressured late in the third period. Tommy Novak hit the post with a shot from distance, and then Vladar denied Bryan Rust from close range.
The Penguins had the advantage early in overtime with Evgeni Malkin getting a great scoring opportunity from the slot. Shortly thereafter, a wild scrum in front of the Philadelphia net created some tense moments before the play was blown dead.
Late in overtime, Martone’s shot into an open net was somehow stopped by Silovs’s stick that was lying on the ice. However, the Flyers won the game less than a minute later.
