Flyers down Penguins on road to force Game 6

The Philadelphia Flyers forced a Game 6 on home ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a road win in Game 5 to cut the series lead to 3-2.

Everything was on the line for the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5, and the game down to wire. But in the end, the Flyers came through and forced at least one more game back home ice for a Game 6 on Sunday night.

The Flyers and Penguins went back and forth throughout the game, but it was the Flyers who would prevail late in the game and take Game 5 by a final score of 4-2.

Sean Couturier fired the game-winning goal past Matt Murray with just 1:15 left in the third period, and Michael Raffl buried an empty net to secure the win.

Now the Flyers can go back on home ice to look for their first home win in a crucial Game 6 and push this series back to Pittsburgh for a Game 7.

Three Stars

3. Michal Neuvirth: If Neuvirth had started this series from the get go, we could be talking about a whole different storyline. Neuvirth made 30 saves on 32 shots in his first start of this series after Brian Elliot let in 5-plus goals in three of the first four games of the series. If Neuvirth can at least give the Flyers a chance on Sunday, there is a real chance this series could go seven and the Flyers might just have a chance to steal this series.

2. Valtteri Filppula: When Jake Guentzel gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead in the second period, you could almost the collective groan from Flyers fans going “I guess this is it.” But Filppula changed that before the end of the period. Less then two minutes after Guentzel’s goal, the Penguins were on a power play looking a back breaking 3-1 lead. Filppula picked off a puck at center ice, marched it down the board, fed it to Jori Lehtera for a shot and slammed home the rebound to tie the game. The goal gave the Flyers a spark, and they rode it the rest of the way to the win. Filppula also provided an assist on Matt Read’s empty net goal to seal the deal.

1. Sean Couturier: The Flyers needed something big late in the third period, and Sean Couturier came through big time with the game-winning goal at 18:45 of the third period. The Penguins shellacked the Flyers throughout the third period, but none of that mattered when Couturier fired the puck through a screen and gave the Flyers the late lead. Couturier missed Game 4 after being injured in practice by Radko Gudas, and you could tell how badly the Flyers needed his presence on both ends of the ice.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/987480199548821504

Next: 25 Most Dominant Offensive Players In NHL History

Next Game

The Battle of Pennsylvania returns to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Sunday, April 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Tune in on NBC.

For more from the NHL playoffs, make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our NHL hub for all the latest news and results.