Flyers Dominate Penguins 6-1, Extend Pittsburgh’s Losing Streak

PHILADELPHIA – Noah Cates recorded two goals and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers triumphed over the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1 at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night, marking the Penguins’ fourth consecutive loss.

Philadelphia, now 26-26-7, scored the last four goals of the game after leading 2-1 at the second intermission. Cates was a standout performer, contributing significantly to the Flyers’ offense amid a recent three-game winning streak.

“I think the biggest point that I liked about it is I thought we were on our toes,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “I thought we were on top of them… Bobby Brink, it’s good to see him get rewarded. Hasn’t scored a whole bunch, but has really worked at the other parts of his game.”

The Flyers opened the scoring with a goal from Rasmus Ristolainen at 3:56 of the first period, taking advantage of their first shot on goal with a skilled one-timer from the left face-off circle. This goal marked Ristolainen’s second in as many games.

Just minutes later, Cates extended Philadelphia’s lead to 2-0 at 12:19, snapping an 11-game point drought. He fired a wrist shot past Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic after receiving a pass from Brink.

Pittsburgh managed to respond with a goal from Philip Tomasino at 6:09 of the second period, narrowing the deficit to 2-1. However, the Flyers retaliated with three straight goals, starting with Tyson Foerster‘s tally at 11:55.

Brink and Cates then scored 10 seconds apart late in the second period, pushing Philadelphia’s lead to 5-1. Cates netted his second goal at 18:55, followed by a deflection goal from Brink just seconds later. “We’ve kind of strung a couple good games together,” Brink said. “Tonight, just bounces kind of went our way and pucks went in.”

The final blow came in the third period when Owen Tippett scored at 6:06, solidifying a decisive 6-1 victory for the Flyers.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan addressed his team’s struggles, saying, “It’s hard to win when you don’t manage the puck. You turn it over in the wrong areas of the rink, and you don’t win a puck battle in any zone.” The Penguins are now 23-28-9 this season and have been outscored 19-7 over the last three games.

Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson made 23 saves, while Nedeljkovic tallied 32 saves for the Penguins. Cates and Brink were integral in establishing dominance against a struggling Pittsburgh team.

This matchup was part of a home-and-home series, with the two teams set to face off again Thursday in Pittsburgh. Both teams look to improve their standings in the Metropolitan Division as the season progresses.