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Brandon Manning's fight ignites Flyers' turnaround vs. Penguins

PITTSBURGH _ Defenseman Brandon Manning didn't score any of the Flyers' goals Sunday night, but many of his teammates thought he supplied the turning point in their 6-2 win in Pittsburgh.

With his fists.

The Flyers were being badly outplayed when Manning won a one-sided bout with Cameron Gaunce with 12:02 left in the opening period. At the time, the Flyers trailed, 1-0, and were being outshot, 9-3.

For the rest of the game, the Flyers outscored the Penguins, 6-1, and outshot them, 32-18.

"It was huge, and it always helps when you win the fight, too," rookie winger Travis Konecny said. "A fight gets the team going, but when you end up on the right side of it, it always helps the momentum of the game. Kudos to him. He finds ways to get us going. He's done it throughout the year."

"I think (for) a lot of us, if we had the heart of Brandon Manning, maybe we'd be in a little different situation," Gostisbehere said. "I think it really pumped our team up."

Manning also had an assist, fired three shots, and finished with a plus-2 rating in 18:11.

Manning, who sat out five games with a shoulder injury before returning in the Flyers' 3-1 win Thursday in Minnesota, and Radko Gudas have played solidly since they were paired together three games ago.

Gaunce had asked Manning if he wanted to fight him because he was upset for two reasons:  Gudas' cross check on Tom Kuhnhackl earlier in the game, and Manning's hit on Jake Guentzel in the recent contest at Heinz Field.

"We were down one and I had an opportunity, so I accepted," Manning said in a matter-of-fact tone. "That's part of the reason I'm here and what I've worked for. That' part of my game that I think needs to be there. I'm not one of those guys who's going to put up a ton of points or skill. I'm happy to do it once in a while, and tonight it worked out pretty well, I think."

Dave Hakstol agreed.

"Brandon Manning again showed his importance to our hockey team," the second-year coach said.

The Flyers will likely protect three defensemen in the expansion draft in June. Manning, Gostisbehere, and Gudas figure to be the three.

Breakaways. Winger Dale Weise had a goal and seven hits…..Sean Couturier, Michael Del Zotto and Gostisbehere were each plus-3….Gudas had five hits and was plus-2….Andrew MacDonald blocked four shots…..Claude Giroux had a pair of assists and has 10 points in his last 11 games…..Excluding an empty-net tally, the Flyers outscored the injury-riddled Penguins, 5-1, in even-strength situations….The Flyers host Ottawa on Tuesday on Fan Appreciation Night. There will be $100,000 in prizes handed out.