Penguins bounce Flyers; Predators finish off Avs

Jake Guentzel scored four straight goals to help send the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins into the next round with an 8-5 win over the Flyers in Game 6 on Sunday in Philadelphia.

Guentzel won the game for the Penguins with goals off Flyers turnovers, leading them to their ninth straight playoff series win.

Guentzel had the third four-goal playoff game in team history, joining Mario Lemieux in 1989 and Kevin Stevens in 1991.

“This is what you want to play in,” Guentzel said. “You grow up dreaming about this and this is definitely fun. Whenthe bounces start going your way, you just try to run with it.”

Guentzel tied the game at 4 with 54 seconds left in the second period off a Flyers turnover. He scored 30 seconds into the third for the lead off another giveaway, and sealed one more lopsided win over the Flyers with two goals 10 seconds apart late in the period.

It was 2-2 after one period, 4-4 after two, and nothing was decided in the fiercest game of the series between the rivals until Guentzel took control.

Sean Couturier had the 24th playoff hat trick for the Flyers. Couturier said he played with a torn right MCL suffered in a collision at practice last week.

Mattias Ekholm ignited the offense early with the first goal by a Predators defenseman in the series, Pekka Rinne stopped 22 shots and the top-seeded Predators advanced to the second round with the victory over the Avalanche in Game 6 in Denver.

Austin Watson, Filip Forsberg, Nick Bonino and Viktor Arvidsson also scored to help the Predators move on to face the Jets.

The Predators silenced the Pepsi Center crowd with two goals in the opening period and two more in the second. Rinne earned his fourth career postseason shutout.

Andrew Hammond ran out of magic in net, allowing five goals. The third-string goaltender nicknamed “Hamburglar” had 44 saves during a Game 5 win.

But he couldn’t turn back a formidable Predators offense that won a second straight playoff contest in Denver.