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Penguins Goalie Had All-Time Meltdown After Getting Pulled From Game vs. Flyers

It was not a good night for Alex Nedeljkovic.

Tom Dierberger

Nedeljkovic allowed three goals in 27 minutes on the ice Thursday night.
Nedeljkovic allowed three goals in 27 minutes on the ice Thursday night. / ESPN
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Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic had himself a night to forget Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.

Losers of five of their last six games entering the matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins needed Nedeljkovic to step up between the pipes and halt their skid. Instead, he struggled mightily.

In about 27 minutes on the ice, Nedeljkovic stopped just 12 of the 15 shots he faced, digging the Penguins in a 3–0 hole midway through the second period. After the third goal, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan opted to yank Nedeljkovic from the game and have Joel Blomqvist take over in net.

Nedeljkovic was not happy.

Whether it was out of frustration by his performance or disapproval of his coach's decision to bench him, Nedeljkovic slammed his goalie stick on the net and ditched it on the ice before skating to the bench. Once there, he slammed the door shut so hard that it bounced back open and didn't actually close.

That's a rough night in the office.

Benching Nedeljkovic turned out to be a great decision for Sullivan, who watched his club storm back and tie the game at 4–4 early in the third period. The Penguins went on to win 5–4 in overtime on Evgeni Malkin's 11th goal of the year.

Nedeljkovic, in his second season with Pittsburgh, entered the night with a 12–11–5 record this season and a .893 save percentage in 28 starts this year. He has recently hit a rough patch, allowing 14 goals over his last three games.

The Penguins, who improved to 24–28–9 with the win, return to the ice Saturday to host the Boston Bruins.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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