The Pittsburgh Penguins scored three times in the third period to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-4 this afternoon and tie their cross-state rivals for fourth overall in the Eastern Conference.
As with any typical Penguins-Flyers tilt there was plenty of physicality and late in the first period Pittsburgh's Jordan Staal hit Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn from behind, sending him into the boards head first.
Coburn would be fine and play the rest of the game. The hit would earn Staal supplemental discipline with a $2,500 fine, not a suspension, likely because of his clean history.
From the NHL:
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jordan Staal has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for boarding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn during NHL Game No. 865 Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 9:56 of the second period. Staal received a minor penalty for boarding on the play.
The fine money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
If that wasn't eventful enough, Matt Cooke scored twice, including one while the Penguins were down 3-on-5 (!) in the second period. Per the Penguins' Michelle Crechiolo, it was the first 3-on-5 goal by the team since Mario Lemieux did it on Feb. 13, 1988 against the Los Angeles Kings.
Now, will the rest of the Department of Player Safety's Saturday night be spent looking at video from the Blues-Wild game?
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy