PHILADELPHIA — The Pittsburgh Penguins had plenty of questions, and the NHL offered few answers after Game 3 of a first-round playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
During a 5-2 win by the Flyers, officials virtually installed a revolving door on the penalty boxes at 4 minutes, 33 seconds of the second period when they gave out roughing minors to all 10 non-goaltenders on the ice.
The sequence began after Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner froze a puck and Penguins forward Bryan Rust became entangled with Flyers forward Travis Konecny. Things became particularly heated when Konecny swung his right elbow at Rust’s head, enraging Rust.
As linesperson C.J. Murray struggled to separate the warring parties, Konecny, while lying on the ice, used his right skate to kick backwards at Rust’s legs.
Officials — referees Jake Brenk and Francois St. Laurent, as well as Murray and fellow linesperson Jonny Murray — took approximately 10 minutes to determine discipline and arrived at the conclusion that Rust earned a second roughing minor, resulting in the Flyers getting a power-play opportunity off the melee.
Flyers forward Trevor Zegras scored his team’s first goal of the contest 45 seconds later to tie the score 1-1.
“I kind of locked him up,” Rust said of his confrontation with Konecny. “Took him to the group. He tried to kick me. Threw a couple of punches back and forth. Not sure why I got the extra two (minutes).”
Did Rust get any kind of explanation after the fact?
“No,” Rust said. “I asked, and they didn’t pay attention to me.”
A league spokesperson declined a request for a pool reporter to interview a series supervisor of the on-ice officials to provide clarity on the penalties.
Crosby penalized for embellishment
Things got heated earlier in the contest at 18:47 of the first period when Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway each were sent to the penalty boxes for embellishment and high sticking, respectively.
As Crosby lined up for a faceoff in Philadelphia’s left circle, Hathaway skated past him, leaned down to adjust his left skate, then twirled his stick behind his back, striking Crosby in the face, prompting Crosby to fall to the ice in a pronounced fashion.
Hathaway was immediately directed to the penalty box. Following some discussions, officials opted to call Crosby for embellishment.
It was the first time in Crosby’s career he had received an embellishment penalty.
“I don’t know how I end up with embellishment,” Crosby said. “Yeah, it’s hard to understand, but you’ve got to play through it.”
While Hathaway declined to comment, Muse spoke volumes.
“We don’t have a single embellishment all year,” Muse said. “Sidney Crosby doesn’t have an embellishment in 21 seasons. So, the stick’s in his face. They take both of them. I disagree on that strongly. Not one, not one for our team all season. So, we didn’t come into this series to start now. The guys have done a good job with that. And Sid doesn’t embellish.”
Change is coming?
Considering the Penguins are facing a 3-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series, Muse knows that sticking with what has been comfortable for most of the regular season isn’t a luxury he can afford.
While he was short on details, he suggested on Thursday that further changes to his team’s lineup could happen in Game 4 on Saturday in Philadelphia.
“All things are going to be on the table,” Muse said. “We’re going to look at different options. There’s a big body of work that you have from the regular season to give you an idea of guys that have played together. Sometimes, you revert back to that. Sometimes, you look at other things as well. Right now, all things are going to be looked at and explored as we get ready for this next game.”
The team’s overall offense has been hindered throughout the series, with the team being limited to two goals over three games.
While no one is on the verge of setting any sort of single-postseason scoring record, two of the team’s top offensive drivers during the regular season have been held without a point in forwards Egor Chinakhov and Anthony Mantha.
Chinakhov’s offensive game erupted once he joined the Penguins via a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 28. In 43 games with the club, Chinakhov posted 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists).
As for Mantha, a free-agent signing in July, he led the team with 33 goals while posting 64 points in 81 games.
With the possible exception of a delay of game penalty Mantha took in Game 3 on Wednesday, they have been difficult to notice in this series.
Muse largely deflected blame when asked about them specifically Thursday.
“In terms of the offense in general, it hasn’t been at the level that it was during the regular season,” Muse said. “I’m not going to just pinpoint two guys on that. As a team, we’re looking to generate more. Part of my job is also — and our staff’s job — is to help these guys. When things are continuing to elevate, which they always are in the playoffs, continuing to find the ability for them to find good spots offensively for the guys that have been relied on to score goals for us in the past.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Continue to work with these guys and try to have them be in the best position possible, individually and collectively, this upcoming game.”
Trio joins Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins forward prospects Jordan Charron, Kale Dach and Travis Hayes signed amateur tryout contracts with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. All three were members of the Penguins’ 2025 draft class.