Pittsburgh, PA (My Sportsbook) - Maxime Talbot scored the go-ahead goal 8:51 into the third period, as the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Talbot returned to the lineup after missing the last three games due to a broken right foot.

Sidney Crosby finished with a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who took a 2-0 series lead and can increase the advantage in the third contest, set for Tuesday in Philadelphia. Marian Hossa and Jordan Staal also scored for the Penguins.

Sergei Gonchar finished with three assists, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30-of-32 shots in the victory for Pittsburgh, which has won 15 consecutive home games and is a perfect 7-0 in the playoffs so far at Mellon Arena.

"Going there up 2-0 that's the best position we could have been in at this point," Crosby said. "We know it's just going to get tougher from here on in, but we're happy with the way we've played at home."

Jeff Carter scored, and Mike Richards added a shorthanded tally for the Flyers, who also lost Game 1 by a 4-2 score. Martin Biron faced 37 shots, and stopped 34 of them.

Philadelphia was already playing without star defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who is out for the entire series with a blood clot, but also lost blue-liner Braydon Coburn less than two minutes of the game. He was hit in the face with a puck and did not return.

With the score tied in the third period, Flyers forward Steve Downie turned the puck over along the boards in his own zone. The disc found its way behind the goal, where Gary Roberts skated and backhanded it out in front. Talbot hammered it home for a 3-2 Pittsburgh edge.

"No excuses, no excuses, the puck has to go out," Downie said. "I didn't get it out. I had a lot of different plays I could have done, but I gave the puck away. I blew it, and it ended up in our net."

Philadelphia had 10 shots on goal in the third frame, but Fleury stopped them all and with 28.8 ticks left, Staal scored on an empty net to seal the win.

Just 1:51 into the game, a blast from the point in Philadelphia's end ramped off the stick of Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin and into the right side of Coburn's head.

The Flyers defenseman went down immediately with his gloves in front of his face, and a few small puddles of blood gathered on the ice. Coburn, though, was able to leave the ice under his own power and did not return.

"He had a really bad gash on his forehead across his eye," Flyers head coach John Stevens said. "I thought our (defense) played much better tonight...moved the puck better, but it's tough. I thought the other five guys stepped up and played a heck of a game."

The disastrous first period continued for Philadelphia, which had trouble clearing the puck out of its own zone and committed five penalties. Pittsburgh's power play came to life after Mike Knuble went off for cross- checking. That penalty overlapped with Carter's tripping minor, and created a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Penguins.

Crosby capitalized, as just eight seconds into Knuble's penalty, his shot from low in the right circle squeezed by Biron at the right post. The Flyers goaltender left several inches of space between himself and the net, and Crosby put the disc by Biron's left pad at 10:48.

The Penguins' star almost had another tally with 3:19 left, with the teams playing 4-on-4. A shot from the left side caromed up off Biron's stick, into Derian Hatcher's head and down into the crease.

Crosby, looking to poach a rebound on the right side of the net, skated in and shoved the puck with his stick. The disc looked to flutter across the goal line when Biron went to scoop it out with his glove.

Play stopped, and the call on the ice was that it wasn't a goal. After a lengthy review, officials upheld the call, as it wasn't conclusive that the entire puck -- which was bouncing on its side -- crossed the line.

"I think it was inconclusive," Crosby said. "They couldn't see the puck actually cross the line from the angle they had. I thought we did a good job of staying focused after that."

Though, Carter provided the equalizer shortly into the middle period on a power play. Joffrey Lupul got possession of the puck in the lower right corner and sent a cross-ice pass to the left of the net for Carter, who gunned a shot over Fleury's glove.

Hossa put Pittsburgh back on top later in the same stanza, again on a power play. Biron couldn't control a rebound off a save, and the puck bounced to the Penguins' forward, who backhanded it in with 6:17 remaining in the period for a 2-1 edge.

But in the final minute, Richards evened the game once more with his third goal of the series. Pittsburgh actually skated on the power play, though Malkin's centering pass from the left point was picked off by Richards, who skated in all along on Fleury and beat him with 23.2 ticks left.

Game Notes

Philadelphia was 1-for-3 on power plays, while Pittsburgh was 2-for-6... The Flyers are 3-0 all-time in playoff series against the Penguins with the most recent meeting coming in the 2000 conference semifinals. Philadelphia fell behind 0-2 in that series, but won the final four outings...Carter led all players with eight shots...Crosby and Malkin each have a team-high 17 points this postseason.