Feisty Flyers Pop a Pair Late, Stave Off Elimination

So much for the Pittsburgh Penguins earning a few extra days' rest before the next round.

Dudes were cruising in their own building, two minutes away from brushing their in-state rivals aside, when the Philadelphia Flyers suddenly made a series of it again.

Thank Shane Couturier for channeling his inner Chris Pronger.

The Penguins only saw 17 minutes of him on the ice in Game 5, and they'll rue the final one.

 

Well, two Flyer goals in the game's final two minutes with their playoff survival on the line was an unusual development.

Because, if Jurassic Park taught us anything, it's this:

 

Yes. Yes, it does.

Philadelphia spent the entire game countering everything Pittsburgh had to offer before the dramatic third period, when Couturier banked his series-extending shot off a Penguin ankle.

 

Michal Neuvirth frustrated Pittsburgh all night.

They had more than their share of chances to blow this game open, but the crafty Czech vet had an answer to virtually everything they threw at him, making 30 saves.

His robbery of Sidney Crosby's point blank effort in the final minute was sheer artistry:

 

It actually looked kinda familiar.

Because it was, in 2016 during the World Cup of Hockey:

 

Now, it's back to the City of Brotherly Love -- Pens excepted -- for Game 6.

Pittsburgh sorely missed Tomas Holmström v2.0 -- aka Patric Hörnqvist -- in Games 4 and 5. His menacing presence where angels fear to tread will return in Game 6.

 

Dude's a human backboard in there.

The hitfest will thus escalate, if that's even possible when Flyers and Penguins meet with a sudden season ending on the line.