Danny Briere, Matt Read, and Max Talbot each scored two goals to lead the Flyers to an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday in a fight-filled Game 3 in Philadelphia in the opening-round series.

Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux also scored to help the Flyers take a 3-0 lead in the combustible best-of-seven series.

The goals might be hard to find on a highlight reel. This one was all about the brawls more suitable for a UFC card. Three players were tossed in the first period. There was a rare fight between superstars when Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby squared off against Giroux.

The Penguins and Flyers talked trash, laid the smack down, and played one wildly entertaining game. The result was still the same. The Flyers rallied from another deficit to win and put them on the brink of a sweep.

“In the end, that’s really playoff hockey,’’ Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. “A couple of the best players in the world dropping the gloves going at it. Would I rather have G keep his gloves on? Sure. But when he’s fighting Sidney Crosby, that’s playoff hockey. That’s this series.’’

Jordan Staal and James Neal scored twice for the Penguins but Marc-Andre Fleury was benched after allowing six goals in two periods. He has allowed 17 goals in the first three games. NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin has yet to score for the Penguins.

Each team had their top defenseman - Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang and Philadelphia’s Kimmo Timonen - tossed. So was Penguins forward Aaron Asham.

The slugfest overshadowed the one on the scoreboard. Staal scored 3:52 into the game to give the Penguins the first goal for the third straight game.

The Flyers answered again, though, with Talbot tapping a rebound past Fleury. Briere scored consecutive goals off a 5-on-3 power play and a one-timer to leave Fleury reeling.