Twenty minutes into the game, all of the numbers figured to add up to two points for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The most important was the score since they had a 4-1 lead over Philadelphia.
Then there were the precedents. Like how the Penguins were 6-0-2 in their previous eight games against the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena, and 5-0-2 in their previous seven overall versus Philadelphia.
And it was hard to overlook goalie Tristan Jarry’s recent history against the Flyers, since he’d gone 6-0-2 in his previous eight starts when facing them.
But the game nearly got away from the Penguins when they were virtual no-shows for much of the second period, as Philadelphia got back to within a goal before the Penguins secured a 7-3 victory Monday evening to raise their record to 16-15-5.
It is the first time they’ve been above NHL .500 since they were 3-2 in mid-October.
