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Penguins edge Flyers on OT goal by Dupuis

Oct 15, 2008 - 3:52 AM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Flyers still are in search of their first win of the season thanks to Pascal Dupuis.

Dupuis scored with 11 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 triumph over the Flyers on Tuesday.

Defenseman Brooks Orpik had a goal and an assist and Mike Zigomanis also tallied for the Penguins, who have gone to overtime in three of their first four games this season - winning twice.

"Winning builds confidence, there's no doubt, and we won the right way, too," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who was held without a point for the second straight game. "I don't think it was a fluke. We worked hard, we earned it and it's always a little bit more rewarding."

Blue-liner Kris Letang notched a pair of assists and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for Pittsburgh.

Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers, who went 0-for-6 on the power play.

"We did a lot of good things, just didn't get the two points," Philadelphia captain Mike Richards said. "I thought we outchanced them. I thought we played well enough to win tonight."

With time winding down in overtime, Orpik was not content with just going to a shootout. From his own zone, he made a long pass to Dupuis, who carried the puck into the offensive zone and unleashed a slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat goaltender Antero Niittymaki to the glove side for his first goal of the season.

"I figured I'd close my eyes and shoot it on net, and it ended up being in," Dupuis said.

"I thought his angle was not that good anymore and I kind of stepped up a little bit and pretty much thought it would go wide or hit me," Niittymaki said. "(It was) a pretty good shot, too, but I still think maybe I was in a little bit of the wrong place. The positioning wasn't perfect, but I have to give him credit, too."

Orpik did not think his pass would reach Dupuis cleanly due to poor ice conditions.

"This ice was really, really bad," he said. "The puck was bouncing on everybody. On Dupuis' goal, it was such a long pass, I was surprised it made it there flat because the puck was bouncing everywhere."

After a scoreless first period, Pittsburgh appeared en route to its first regulation win of the season, scoring twice in a span of 42 seconds in the second session.

With nine seconds remaining on Richards' unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Orpik fired a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that found the top right corner of the net with 5:48 remaining in the period.

"It wasn't an overly hard shot," Orpik said. "It just found a corner because Tyler Kennedy had such a good screen on (Niittymaki). It's just, throw it at the net, see what happens."

Orpik drew praise from his coach and teammates for his two-point effort.

"He played a solid game tonight," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "The last few games, you could see the Brooks Orpik of last year. He is capable on the defense, but when he adds offense to his game, it is a bonus for us."

"He was big for us tonight," Crosby added. "He made a good pass on Dupuis' goal. When we're getting contributions from our defense, that's a good sign."

Acquired from Phoenix on Thursday, Zigomanis doubled the lead at 14:54, one-timing the puck past Niittymaki from the low slot after receiving a pass from behind the net by Matt Cooke.

Playing its first road game after opening the season with a pair of home losses, Philadelphia needed just a 22-second spurt in the final minute of the period to pull even.

"We got down 2-0 and had the resilience to (come back)," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "I thought it was great. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. I was really happy with the effort, the level of our hockey team."

"Obviously, you don't want to give up a goal in the last minute, let alone two goals," Orpik said. "But both of them, they were kind of fluky goals there."

With 44 seconds to go, Arron Asham kept the puck in the offensive zone near the left point and dished it down low to Scottie Upshall. From the right side of the net, Upshall fed Carter, who tapped the puck past Fleury from in front for his second of the campaign.

Moments later, defenseman Kimmo Timonen fired a one-timer from the blue line that was deflected in by Gagne, forging a 2-2 deadlock. It was the third goal in as many games for Gagne, who was limited to 25 contests last season due to a concussion.

"I feel very good," Gagne said. "I got hit again tonight pretty good. All those symptoms and effects are not back.

"At least we saw some great stuff again tonight. It's not like we played bad three games in a row. It's a tough league now. You're going to win by a goal, you're going to lose by a goal. Those two points are hard to get."

Niittymaki turned aside 25 shots and Andrew Alberts saw 12 1/2 minutes of action in his debut with the Flyers, who obtained the defenseman from the Boston Bruins on Monday.

"I felt pretty confident coming into this game," said Niittymaki, who made his first start of the season. "It's just too bad (we lost). It was so close. At least we got a point."

"He gave us a chance to win. That's what you want," Stevens said of his goalie. "I thought he did pretty well. ... He made a couple of big saves to keep it at 2-2."