Penguins vs. Flyers: Nick Robertson Scores Twice in His Penguins Debut as Pittsburgh Routs Philadelphia 7-0

Five months ago, the Philadelphia Flyers ended Pittsburgh's season on this same sheet of ice. On Wednesday night, the Penguins came back to Xfinity Mobile Arena and returned the favor with interest, plus late fees, plus a strongly worded letter.

Nick Robertson scored twice in his Penguins debut, Evgeni Malkin, Hendrix Lapierre and Filip Hallander all scored in a three-goal second period, and Arturs Silovs made 19 saves as Pittsburgh crushed Philadelphia 7-0 in the season opener for both teams. By the second intermission, the AP reported, the home crowd had turned to boos. By the end, the Flyers were probably just happy to leave.

The First Period: Two Quick Hits

The Penguins grabbed the lead at 7:26 of the first when Robertson deflected a Kris Letang pass from the right side past Dan Vladar. Sidney Crosby picked up the secondary assist, which gave him 140 career points against Philadelphia, per NHL.com.

Pittsburgh doubled it at 15:44, and the Flyers will not enjoy the tape. Samuel Girard caught Philadelphia in the middle of a line change, Ville Koivunen took his pass with nobody near him, and Koivunen slid a backhand between Vladar's pads. Kaedan Korczak earned the other assist.

Philadelphia actually won the faceoff battle all night, 36-22, and threw more hits, 28-23. None of that mattered, because the Flyers kept giving the puck away. They finished with 21 giveaways to Pittsburgh's 11.

The Turning Point: Three Goals in Under Six Minutes

If the first period put Philadelphia in a hole, the second filled it in on top of them. Porter Martone went to the box for cross-checking at 3:23, and at 5:03 Malkin finished a give-and-go with Lapierre, hammering a one-timer from the left circle for a 3-0 power-play lead.

That goal carried some weight. According to NHL.com, it made the 40-year-old the sixth player with 100 career points against the Flyers, joining Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Bryan Trottier and Wayne Gretzky. It was also his 534th career goal, moving him past Frank Mahovlich for 36th all-time.

Lapierre made it 4-0 at 7:26 after Hallander came out of a neutral-zone battle with the puck. Lapierre took the pass, cut around Carl Grundstrom and beat Vladar on the short side. Then at 10:23, Hallander won a net-front shoving match with Jamie Drysdale and jammed a loose puck in under Vladar. Five goals on the first 18 shots, per the AP. Game over, with nearly half of it still to play.

Rick Tocchet did not sugarcoat it. "I don't know if we won a battle tonight," the Flyers coach said. "We were down 4-0 and some plays we were making were just disturbing plays. Got to figure this out quickly."

The Third Period Pile-On

Philadelphia had a power play at 10:25 of the third after Connor Dewar was called for interference, and it somehow got worse. Robertson took off on a short-handed rush at 11:52 and missed the net entirely. No matter. The puck bounced back off the end boards, hit Vladar's skate and went in. It was 6-0, it was Robertson's first short-handed goal in seven NHL seasons, per NHL.com, and it was the kind of moment that would get a laugh track in a sitcom.

"Obviously, I was fortunate to get the one, and obviously that second one was kind of a gimme. I'll take it," Robertson said.

Egor Chinakhov added the final touch at 16:37, redirecting an Erik Karlsson shot on the power play after Travis Konecny went off for roughing.

Stars of the Night

Nick Robertson scored twice in 15:02 in his first game since Pittsburgh acquired him from Toronto on July 1 for a fourth-round pick. He played on a line with Crosby and Rickard Rakell. "I think he's got great speed and just works every shift," Crosby said.

Filip Hallander had a goal and two assists and was plus-4 in just 10:55. Hendrix Lapierre had a goal and an assist in his Penguins debut, and defensemen Kaedan Korczak (two assists) and Samuel Girard (two assists) were both plus-3.

Arturs Silovs stopped all 19 shots. NHL.com noted he is the fifth goalie with a season-opening shutout in consecutive seasons, after he made 25 saves in a 3-0 win over the New York Rangers to open last season.

For Philadelphia, Dan Vladar made 31 saves on 38 shots and was left in to absorb all of it, which, at that point, was its own kind of endurance test.

Stats That Matter

• 38-19: Pittsburgh's shot advantage.
• 2-for-4: Penguins power play, plus a short-handed goal. The Flyers went 0-for-3.
• 21-11: Flyers giveaways versus Penguins giveaways.
• 494: Regular-season wins for Crosby, Malkin and Letang together, the most by a trio of teammates, per NHL.com.
• 7-0: Ties Pittsburgh's record for its biggest shutout win against the Flyers, matching March 19, 1988, per NHL.com.

What It Means

Pittsburgh starts 1-0-0 under coach Dan Muse, and the newcomers did a lot of the damage. "The fact that we want to have contributions from throughout, but I also think for those guys personally, just being able to come into a new room, new situation, just being able to find a contribution and feel really good about it right away," Muse said. The Penguins play their home opener Saturday against Montreal.

Philadelphia starts 0-1-0 and has to turn around and play Thursday at New Jersey. Defenseman Travis Sanheim did not search for silver linings. "I think it was as ugly as it could have gotten," he said. Tocchet went further, saying the defensive-zone play was the worst he has seen since he has been there. Not ideal for a team the AP described as trying to become a force in the East.

Closing Take

This was revenge served cold, with a side of nostalgia. Crosby, now in his NHL-record 20th season as captain, Malkin and Letang still look capable of making a building go quiet. Crosby kept it humble. "Just a good start on the road," he said. Sure, Sid. And Taylor Swift sold a few concert tickets.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by NHL.com.