Penguins' Sidney Crosby And Kris Letang Proved They Aren't Done Yet Vs. Flyers

TL;DR

The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided elimination with a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, led by veterans Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. Crosby scored his first goal of the series and Letang netted the game-winner.

Key points

Penguins avoided elimination with a 4-2 win over Flyers
Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the series
Kris Letang scored the game-winning goal
Penguins had lost the first three games of the series
Game took place at Xfinity Mobile Arena

Pittsburgh PenguinsPhiladelphia FlyersSidney CrosbyKris Letang

After starting this percolating, best-of-seven playoff series with three straight losses, it would have been easy for the aging Pittsburgh Penguins to pack it in Saturday and make tee times for their favorite golf courses.

But there's too much pride on the Penguins to allow that to happen.

Not surprisingly, it was the veterans who led the way as the Penguins played their best game of the series and stayed alive with a hard-earned 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the deflated Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The old guys showed they still have something left in the tank against the upstart, younger Flyers.

Sidney Crosby, 38, had two points and scored his first goal of the series, and Kris Letang, 39, deposited what proved to be the game-winning tally as the Penguins survived.

"It's only one, but it gives us some life, and I think that looked more like our game," said Crosby, whose team iced the win on Connor Dewar's empty-net goal with 57 seconds left. "It's probably taken us three games to look like ourselves a bit. That's something we can definitely build on."

With Pittsburgh clinging to a 2-1 lead early in the third period, Crosby kicked the puck to Letang, then drove toward the net and jumped into the air to set a screen as the defenseman cruised closer and beat goaltender Dan Vladar.

"It's all those little details sometimes," Letang said. "It's not the crazy play or the passes and finding a guy back post. It was an amazing play and just shows you how much IQ he has on the ice and how he knows what to do every moment in every situation."

Penguins coach Dan Muse said the seeds for the win were planted by Friday's sharp, upbeat practice.

"I thought they competed really hard (Friday) and they were focused, but they also weren't too tight," Muse said. "The credit falls to the leadership in the locker room to make sure that's there. That's a credit to Sid and the leaders. Today started yesterday."