 |
POWER
PLAY |
2ND
- 21.8 |
PENALTY
KILL |
12TH
- 83.2 |
FORWARDS |
MIKE
RICHARDS |
28-47-75
(+14) |
DANIEL
BRIERE |
31-41-72
(-22) |
VACLAV
PROSPAL |
33-38-71
(0) |
DEFENSEMEN |
KIMMO
TIMONEN |
8-36-44
(0) |
BRAYDON
COBURN |
9-27-36
(+17) |
RANDY
JONES |
5-26-31
(+8) |
GOALTENDERS |
MARTIN
BIRON |
30-20-9
(5 SO)
2.59 GA
.918 PCT |
|
ANTERO
NITTYMAKI |
12-9-2
(1 SO)
2.91 GA
.907 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Philadelphia
vs Pittsburgh |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
MAY
9 |
PHILADELPHIA
2 - PITTSBURGH 4 |
SEED
6 |
2 |
MAY
11 |
PHILADELPHIA
2 - PITTSBURGH 4 |
SEED
2 |
42-29-11
(95) |
3 |
MAY
13 |
PITTSBURGH
4 - PHILADELPHIA
1 |
47-27-8
(102) |
| |
4 |
MAY
15 |
PITTSBURGH
2 - PHILADELPHIA 4 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
18 |
PHILADELPHIA
0 - PITTSBURGH 6 |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
20 |
PITTSBURGH
at PHILADELPHIA |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
22 |
PHILADELPHIA
at PITTSBURGH |
|
|
Pittsburgh
Wins Series 4-1 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW |
|
|
During
the recent presidential election coverage Pennsylvania
came to be known as a “Battleground State”. That moniker
will never truer than the upcoming battle in the NHL’s
Eastern Conference Finals between the Philadelphia Flyers
and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The only thing missing between these two teams would be
if they had it out in Gettysburg. Ok, so the real battle
was between the North and the South, but you know what
they say, never let the facts get in the way of a good
story.
Usually hockey fans don’t get jacked up for a playoff
series unless their team is involved, or it is the Stanley
Cup finals. Even if you are not a fan of ether team, here
is my advice to you; sit down, relax, put the remote away,
put your favorite beverage in one hand, grab a handful
of munchies in the other, and watch what will no doubt
become one of the most fun rivalries in all of hockey
go at it. Trust me, if you plan to watch the series in
HD, do yourself a favor, and get a towel because the blood
from someone’s jersey will come across the screen.
Some might not think of these two teams as being that
great rivalry, but after this series, you will come away
feeling the bitterness between these two teams. Oh, there
have been some great rivalries that have hooked up in
the playoffs over the years: Detroit vs. Colorado in the
90’s, Calgary vs. Edmonton in the 80’s, the Rangers vs.
New Jersey Devils, Montreal and Toronto, Detroit and Chicago.
Heck, pit any two teams from the Original Six era and
you are practically guaranteed a barn-burner.
Pittsburgh by Tom Schettino
There were many questions about the Penguins before the
start of this tournament, but they have all been answered
now and Pittsburgh is considered as the prohibitive favorite
against the Flyers. Pittsburgh presents severe match-up
issues for the Flyers and they will have an even bigger
advantage since the Flyers best defenseman Kimmo Timonen
has been shut down with a blood clot in his left foot
for an undetermined period of time.
Most observers have been surprised with how well the Penguins
have played defensively while still maintaining their
ability to light up the scoreboard. While their offense
draws all the attention, Pittsburgh’s unsung defense has
allowed the fewest goals against of any team who are in
the semifinals. Obviously the Penguins have come a long
way since being called terrible defensively by Coach Michel
Therrien shortly after he took over the club in December
of 2005.
“Well, I think when he was outspoken, I think in that
scenario, he wasn't wrong,” said Sidney Crosby. “I mean,
we weren't playing well. We weren't playing the right
way. You know, sometimes you can't always be nice about
everything and sugarcoat everything. It was what it was,
and we knew we had to be better.”
The turning point this season for this club came when
the team was without starting netminder Marc-Andre Fleury
and Crosby due to injury. Goaltender Ty Conklin and forward
Evgeni Malkin stepped into those players’ roles respectively,
but the entire team responded to adversity.
“You give a lot of chance(s) to different players (who)
got different roles,” said Therrien. “This is one of the
messages. The resilience of that team never stops surprising
me. You know, a guy like Malkin, elevates his game to
another level. We needed that. We give other players different
roles that they were not used to it. That's why, you know,
it's like they learn through that adversity. They've got
different roles. And when, like I told the players, if
we could get out of this, we're going to become a better
team. We are a better team than where we were at that
time.”
Offense: Most teams have one particular player
who must be shutdown in order for their opponent to have
a chance. Pittsburgh defies the model as they have two
superstars on the front line in Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
Those two players receive strong offensive support from
Ryan Malone, Marian Hossa and Petr Sykora. Jordan Staal
is an excellent penalty-killer as is Pascal Dupuis and
Jarkko Ruutu and Tyler Kennedy see full-time duty. Gary
Roberts kicked off the playoff run with a pair of goals
in the opening game, but has been struggling to get back
in the lineup full-time after an injury. Roberts, Adam
Hall, Maxime Talbot and Georges Laraque fill roles to
round out the forward lines. Secondary scoring will be
essential in this series as both Crosby and Malkin averaged
nearly two points-per-game. Despite their play the Penguins
still lost five of the eight head-to-head games between
the two teams.
Defense: After adding Hossa at the deadline the
acquisition of Hal Gill at the trade deadline seemed to
be an afterthought, but the hulking defender has averaged
more ice time during the playoffs than any defender not
named Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar is the undisputed number
one defender on the club, but he can be worn down over
time, a tactic the Flyers are sure to employ.
Hard-hitting Brooks Orpik, steady defender Rob Scuderi
and puck-carrying defenders Ryan Whitney and Kristopher
Letang rounds out the blue line corps for the Penguins.
Gill might struggle against forwards like Richards and
Jeff Carter but he should do well when matched up against
R.J. Umberger who is blazing hot coming into this series.
It will be essential for the Penguins defensemen to help
kill off any Philadelphia power plays and the entire Pittsburgh
team to play disciplined hockey.
“We're going to have to pay attention to our discipline,
because they've got the power play,” said Therrien. “Guys
like (Daniel) Briere can score big goals, big time goals.
There's (Mike) Richards, that as far as we're concerned,
he's a good player on both sides of the ice.
Goaltender: Fleury has been outstanding from day
one in the playoffs. After two series his record stands
at 8-1 with a 1.76 goals against average and a .938 save
percentage. Previously Fleury has had success against
Philadelphia in the playoffs as he owns a 9-5 record in
postseason play against the Flyers. Fleury is a classic
butterfly goaltender who has the ability to get hot and
carry a club. Should Fleury get hurt or become ineffective
he is backed up by Conklin.
Overview: The Penguins knocked off archrival Ottawa
Senators in the first round and the defensively sound
New York Rangers in the second round. Pittsburgh out-gunned
the Senators and beat them in the trenches. They did the
same to the Rangers and made Vezina Trophy finalist Henrik
Lundqvist look ordinary at times. Unless they Penguins
start taking stupid penalties in droves or allows Fleury
to get ambushed they should win this series relatively
easily.
Philadelphia by Brian Jennings
The Flyers have virtually lived off of their power play
for the most part this season. The playoffs have been
no different for the Flyers. Philadelphia finished the
regular season second overall, and are third overall in
the playoffs.
The Flyers were sixth in overall scoring during the season
and are first overall in the playoffs with 26 goals. The
Flyers were eighteenth in goals allowed during the season
but are tenth in the playoffs.
Briere has continued to lead the Flyers in offense with
eight goals and six assists, and is only one point behind
Jaromir Jagr for the league lead. Needless to say that
will change with Jagr and the Rangers getting the boot
thanks to Pittsburgh. Still, Briere must still contend
with Johan Franzen of Detroit and three other players
who also have 14 points.
Umberger made a name for himself during the Montreal series
and is having a Keith Primeau kind of a playoff season
with nine goals and two assists in 12 games. Umberger
is a native of Pittsburgh and has practically owned them
during the regular season with six goals and five assists
in eight games.
Vaclav Prospal, Carter, and Richards have continued to
play well in the playoffs. Those players and Scottie Upshall
have upped there games of late which only bodes well for
Philadelphia heading into the Penguins series. If the
Flyers can continue to get balanced scoring as they have
all season long when seven players had 20 or more goals,
it should be able to offset Pittsburgh’s high-flying attack.
The Flyers defense has been their Achilles’ heel all season
long as they have allowed way too many shots on goal.
Despite winning the Montreal series, in most of the games
the Flyers were outshot. Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher
have upped their games if only because they have been
put on the penalty killing unit for the most part. The
penalty-killing unit was very good in both series so far
and will need to be once again in order to keep Pittsburgh
off the scoreboard.
In order to do that however, the Flyers will need to stay
out of the penalty box. Something they have yet to do
in the playoffs. Still, this will be a long series so
you can bet this will test the Flyers mettle on defense.
Randy Jones and Braydon Coburn’s size must come into play
in order for the Flyers to withstand the Penguins offense.
Lasse Kukkonen has played well and has earned the right
to stay in the lineup as the Flyers sixth defenseman.
The key to the Flyers success will of course have to continue
to be Marty Biron. He must out duel Fleury if the Flyers
are going to move on. Biron is playing the best hockey
of his career and was the Flyers best player in the Montreal
series. Biron is eighth in goals against average at 2.72,
and is sixth in save percentage at .914 percent. If he
can lead the Flyers to the Cup, either he or Briere should
be considered for the Conn Smythe award.
|
|
| Game
1 |
Philadelphia
2 - Pittsburgh 4 |
|
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 1-0 |
Pittsburgh,
PA
- The two clubs battling it out for Eastern Conference supremacy are loaded with young players and two of those talents stepped to the forefront in Game 1. In the end the difference was made by Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin but for some time it appeared Philadelphia’s Mike Richards would dominate and control the outcome of the first game between the two teams.
Each of these teams have had trouble in the first game of previous series and for awhile it appeared each team was doing their respective bests to keep the tradition alive in a sloppy, but exciting, first period. Five of the game’s six goals were scored during a period in which it appeared neither club deserved to have advanced this far along in the playoffs. The turning point came when Ryan Whitney corralled a turnover and sent Malkin down the wing for a score with just seconds remaining in the stanza.
There was plenty of action to enjoy in the first period. Petr Sykora showed why he is such an amazing goal-scorer when he deked Philadelphia’s Biron into making the first move and deftly lifted a backhander by the now-out-of position netminder. The goal was just one of first on the evening in which Biron would have trouble.
The next four minutes of the game belonged to the Flyers as Richards took over with a pair of goals. The team’s alternate captain travelled behind the Pittsburgh net and with no other option slid the puck into netminder Marc-Andre Fleury’s body. Fleury’s momentum carried the puck into the net and even though the officials examined the play on instant replay there was no question the game was tied.
Joffrey Lupul was the catalyst for the game’s next goal. Left alone to seemingly whack at the puck below Fleury until the end of time, Lupul finally knocked it loose to Richards who fired the puck through a mass of bodies and into the goal for the Flyers first and only lead of the game.
“I thought we had a kind of slow start, said Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien. “The competitiveness level we should have around the net, we knew what they were going to do. We know how they're going to score their goals. They throw a lot of puck(s) to the net."
At this point the Penguins two brightest stars took control of the contest. Sidney Crosby deflected the puck into a goal after a Biron gaffe. Biron went to play the puck behind the net, but mishandled the object and Marian Hossa picked it up at on the side wall. With no other appealing option the dependable Slovak threw it at the night in perfect concert with Crosby who tapped it through Biron’s legs.
With just seconds remaining in the wild period Whitney and Malkin worked their magic to send the club’s into their dressing rooms with the Penguins in the lead. It was a goal that should have been stopped and Biron knew it.
“They got the first goal, we got two quick runs and crashed the net,” said Biron. “I made a bad play on the second goal, (and it) ends up in our net. I think that gave them momentum. The Malkin goal with six seconds left is another one that I'm not really happy about. But you look at it now, they're up 3-2, and two mistakes I could have prevented.”
While the scoring would slow down to a crawl after the first period the action and hitting did not. A solid hit by Richards on Malkin set up the game’s final tally. With Brooks Orpik in the box for holding Malkin and Hossa worked the puck for a shorthanded attempt only to see Malkin bashed into the boards at the conclusion of the attempt. Malkin slowly collected himself after the hit as the play moved down ice.
Meanwhile Hossa hustled down the ice and returned the favor by knocking Daniel Briere off the puck and it went to teammate Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar spied the unattended Malkin at the Flyers blueline and fired a perfect pass to his teammate and paid the price by taking a solid hit himself. Philadelphia defender Randy Jones dove in an attempt to stop the pass, but missed it and Malkin went in on Biron all alone and fired a slap shot in the slot past the helpless goaltender.
“We made some mistakes in the first couple of periods that were very uncharacteristic of the hockey team,” said Richards. “Give them credit that they had an opportunistic team and capitalized on all of their chances. We gave them a lot of the chances that they had. We didn't capitalize on our chances and they did. I think we still can play it better and look forward to Sunday.”
Although the shots on goal would indicate Philadelphia outplayed the Penguins from that point on and would go on to outshoot them by a 28-21 margin, the home club set the tempo from that point on. Each team would have their chances to change the score but Fleury and Biron stopped each attempt.
"Not playing in a week, the competitiveness level wasn't there, and we didn't capitalize on it," said Therrien. "After that (the Flyers two goals) we addressed it to the players and we've got to be much better around the net to win our battles. When we took the lead, you know, we were concentrating on shutting them down. And we put a really tight checking, defensive game after that.”
The series has been termed a battle or war by those hyping it and for the most part the hitting was hard but clean. A flash of animosity did flash late in the final period when the two clubs became involved in a scrum with just over a minute and a half left in the contest. The pushing and shoving reiterated the fact the two clubs do not care for each other from the top down and set up some more physical play for Game 2 on Sunday.
|
|
| Game
2 |
Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh |
| by Brian Jennings -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 2-0 |
Pittsburgh,
PA
- It was deja vu all over again for the Philadelphia Flyers as the team could not stay out of the penalty box. It would cost the Flyers dearly as Pittsburgh made them pay to win 4-2 and sent the Flyers home in a hole down 2-0 in the series.
In each of the two previous series, the Flyers won Game 2 to win and tie the series at 1-1 against Washington and Montreal. It looked as though they might do it again as Mike Richards scored shorthanded with 24 seconds left in the second period to tie the game at 2-2.
The Penguins had scored twice earlier in the game thanks to Sidney Crosby at 10:48 of the first period and Marian Hossa at 10:43 of the second period. Jeff Carter did some magic of his own early in second as well blasting home as pass from Joffrey Lupol as Carter was all alone in front of Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game at 1-1.
With the Flyers already missing Kimmo Timonen because of a blood clot, Braydon Coburn left the game as he got hit in the eye on a shot from Hal Gill and did not return. That left the Flyers with only five defenseman the rest of the night. Compounding the issue was the amount of penalties the Flyers took the rest of the night. The Penguins went 2 of 6 on the power play, while the Flyers were only 1 of 3.
With the scored tied at 2-2, Maxime Talbot, an rarely used fourth line player just back from injury himself, scored the game winner as Gary Roberts took the puck behind the Flyers net, and drew Derian Hatcher with him. That left Talbot alone in front of Flyers goalie Martin Biron and blasted a shot past Biron for the lead 3-2.
The Flyers kept coming at Fleury and almost tied the game at three on several chances, but could not put the puck past Fleury the rest of the night. Jordan Staal finished off the Flyers with an empty net goal with 29 seconds left in the game.
One major factor in this series so far as been the job of the referees so far in this series. It was a topic of conversation after the game on both sides of the rink.
Steve Downie, who was inserted into the game for his grit and determination, knows the series is not over just yet, but he also knows the Flyers can’t keep taking penalties against Pittsburgh.
“It doesn’t matter if we deserved them or not. When we get them we have to kill them off. We cant blame the refs for this game. Were going home now. We will feed of the home crowd. They are great fans. They get crazy and nuts so we will definitely feed of there energy.”
Lupol wasn’t about to say the Flyers are snake-bitten by any means so far in this series.
“They played hard, they played well, they helped turn the pucks over. Still, we were right there doing out best and we know (we) would have won this game, but we didn’t, now we have to go home down 2-0. We just have to forget about this one and move on.”
Like Downie, Lupol wasn’t about to blame the refs for the loss either.
“I don’t know what I am allowed to say,” Lupol said as he laughed with the media after the game. “It doesn’t matter what happens, we have to make our breaks.”
Mike Richards didn’t really address the penalty issue as much as his teams play.
“The bottom line for us is we have to play better in our own zone. They took advantage of some opportunities and we didn’t. Now we go back down 2-0 and we will feed off our home crowd and get back in this series.”
Penguins Head Coach Micheal Therrien however didn’t exactly think that all of the bad calls went the Flyers way, especially on Jarkko Ruuto.
“There is no doubt that I am going to have a meeting with the supervisor (of officials). I want to address it. As far as I am concerned there were tough calls against him.”
Ruuto was called twice in the game for diving and unsportsmanlike conduct. Needless to say even the refs are having a hand in what has been so far a hard fought series, just as most everyone thought it would be.
Flyers Head Coach John Stevens also addressed the penalty issue.
“I’d just like to see some consistency. We got a couple of stars on our team as well, Danny (Briere) is a pretty good player. Hatcher has been around the league long enough to know how to defend. Staal was bending half way over, but he was trying to cut to the net. I can’t get mad at Hatcher for that. He had the right intention there.
Needless to say the Pens scored as a result of Hatcher’s penalty.
With the series heading back to Philly, the Flyers find themselves down 2-0, but Game 2 proved to them that they are not out of the series by a long shot. Penalties have a way of evening out as the series goes along. The Flyers better hope so, or it will be a quick exit for the orange and black.
Contact the author at Brian,Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
3 |
Pittsburgh
4 - Philadelphia 1 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 3-0 |
Philadelphia,
PA
- Tell me if you’ve heard this before. The Philadelphia
Flyers take a penalty, the Penguins score a goal, the
Flyers play catchup the rest of the night and lose. If
that sounds a tad familiar to you, than it’s probably
because it happened once again, only this time the site
was in south Philadelphia rather than in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Penguins scored two goals early in the
first period and never looked back as the 'Pens are one
game away from sweeping the Flyers in the Eastern Conference
Finals thanks to a 4-1 victory in Game 3 to take what
looks to be a commanding 3-0 series lead. If the Penguins
win the series it will be the first time they have ever
defeated the Flyers in a playoff series, and it will be
the first time since 1992 that the Penguins will have
reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Pittsburgh won the Cup
that season against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Derian Hatcher, who has been a marked man by the men in
black stripes this series, once again was penalized for
a questionable hooking penalty. The Penguins promptly
scored thanks to Ryan Whitney’s snap shot that went off
Flyers defenseman Jason Smith. Martin Biron had moved
away from the right post, and the puck between the post
and Biron leg as Biron was sliding over to his left to
give Pittsburgh the 1-0 lead 5:03 into the game.
Marian Hossa quieted the Flyer faithful with a goal that
Biron, despite Hossa’s fancy foot and stick work, probably
should have had as Hossa fired a wrist shot at the net
and fooled Biron to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead only
2:38 after Whitney’s goal.
R.J. Umberger would score his tenth goal of the playoffs
on a rebound as Vaclav Prospal tried to tuck the puck
in the net on a wrap around attempt, but Marc-Andre Fleury
made the save, and the rebound went to Umberger who put
the puck in past Fleury to cut the lead to 2-1 at 10:59
into the first period.
With the scoring coming fast and furious, the thought
was that it would stay like that the rest of the game,
but the Penguins did their best New Jersey Devils imitation
and played great defensively the rest of the night. The
Penguins refused to put pressure on Biron choosing instead
to clog the neutral zone and cause turnovers. The 'Pens
in turn simply dumped the puck into the Flyers zone and
essentially ended the game's flow. The Flyers did little
with the puck other than give it back to Pittsburgh with
poor passing and dumping the puck into the offensive zone
instead of carrying the puck across the blue line.
The Flyers only had eight shots in the first two periods
and were outshot 17-8. The Flyers did outshoot the 'Pens
in the third period 10-8. Their task was made more difficult
without a defenseman who can carry the puck up the ice
with Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn out of the lineup.
On top of it the Flyers offense was being predictable
in their passing by using the boards at every opportunity.
Due to these factors the Flyers had no shot on the Pens
defense who is playing great hockey in their own end.
Flyers Coach John Stevens knows his team was in trouble
once the Penguins trapped his team to a loss tonight.
“Well. it’s exactly what is it, a trap. They executed
it very well. They pounce on turnovers," said Stevens.
They’re very committed to the checking game right now.
They are creating all of their offense from the checking
side of the puck.”
Hmmm, that kind of sounds like the Devils now doesn’t
it?
Sidney Crosby also knows his team is playing some of it’s
best defensive hockey in Game 3 as well, but he also knows
Fleury has a little something to do with it as well.
“Oh, it’s up there, for sure. I mean, especially the first
two periods," said Crosby. "We didn’t give them much at
all. I think you have to give some credit to Fleury because
he didn’t see a lot in the first two periods, and when
he did see some shots he was solid and sharp.”
With a solid defense and a goaltender who’s confidence
is at an all-time high, it’s no wonder they are one game
away from a date in the Stanley Cup finals.
Contact the author at Brian,Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
4 |
Pittsburgh
2 - Philadelphia 4 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 3-1 |
Philadelphia,
PA
- For the first time in this season’s Stanley Cup playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers were in a must-win situation. They came through in their typical exciting fashion as the Flyers, who had once again gotten off to a big lead only to see their opponent make life interesting in the end, won Game 4 by a 4-2 score to send the series back to Pittsburgh. The Pens might have a 3-1 series lead, but things might be turning in the Flyers favor, and not just because of the final score at the end of the game.
The Flyers might be getting more good news as Flyers Head Coach John Stevens hedged during his post game press conference that his top two defenseman, Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timmonen, both of whom might be available for this Sunday’s game. If that ends up being the case, the Flyers will automatically become a better defensive club. The only question is, will it be too little, too late. In the mean time, let’s have fun going over Game 4.
The Flyers played their best period of the series in the first scoring three times to take a 3-0 lead. Joffrey Lupul blasted a shot from the left of Marc-Andre Fleury that deflected off of one of the Penguins defenseman’s stick blade. The shot went high over Fleury’s shoulder for the 1-0 lead.
Daniel Briere finally scored his first goal of the series on, what else, the power play, his sixth of the playoffs, and ninth overall. Briere backhanded a Randy Jones blast from the point and snuck the puck in between Fleury’s pads for a 2-0 lead. Jeff Carter made the score 3-0 on a backhand shot of his own, this time to the right of Fleury as the puck came to him and shot into a virtually empty net. Fleury could find the puck as he laid spread eagle in front of the net and didn’t find the puck until it was too late. Carter had all net to shoot at and gave the Flyers a much needed third goal.
The Flyers outshot the Penguins 17-13 in the period, the most shots on goal by both teams in any period so far this series.
The score would remain 3-0 until the third period when, in typical Flyer fashion, they made life interesting by allowing Pittsburgh back into the game. Jordan Staal scored twice for the Penguins, the first off of a bankshot that went off the back of Martin Biron and into the net for a near improbable goal and gave the Pens the life they needed to get back into the game. Staal would score again at 14:11, this time b y being left all alone in the slot as the Penguins pressured the puck behind the Flyers goal line and took a feed in front with a shot that fooled Biron to get the Pens to within 3-2.
This time however, the Flyers faithful were rewarded for all their yelling and screaming as Lupul got his second of the night on an empty netter to seal the deal and allowed the Flyers another chance to make this a series on Sunday.
Sidney Crosby after the game knew the Pens missed an opportunity to close out the series.
“Yeah, I would have liked to have closed out the series, obviously,” said Crosby. “But they had a good first period and we didn’t, and that was really the difference. We fought hard in the second and third, and you (can’t) give them too many opportunities.”
At the end of the game Derian Hatcher and Ryan Malone pushed the series to new heights emotionally as the two squared off in the last 23 seconds of the game. It was the kind of thing that everyone, fans and media alike felt the series might get to, but Crosby knew that’s not their game, and not how they will win this series.
“It’s been physical, but that’s the playoffs,” said Crosby. “It’s the Conference Finals, it’s going to be physical no matter who you play. We want to play to our strengths which is our skating and our speed and our skill, but be physical in a disciplined way.”
Still, the flame has been officially lit in this series, regardless of how the two teams want to play or not. No matter how much longer this series goes, it’s sure going to end with a bang now matter how you look at it.
Contact the author at Brian,Jennings@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
5 |
Philadelphia
0 - Pittsburgh 6 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Wins Series 4-1 |
Pittsburgh,
PA
- For the third straight series, the Pittsburgh Penguins
made quick work of their opponents as the 'Pens won another
short series, this time against the Philadelphia Flyers.
This time they did it by demolishing their arch enemy
by a 6-0 count that left more questions than answers for
the Flyers heading into next season.
Next season will have to wait just a little while longer
as the Penguins now much wait to see who they will face
in the Stanley Cup Finals depending on who wins the series
between the Dallas Stars and the Detroit Red Wings.
The game was over early as Pittsburgh out-shot the Flyers
10-5 in the first period, and made the most of their opportunities.
Ryan Malone, who got into a fight with Derian Hatcher
at the end of Game 4, got a measure of revenge 12 seconds
into a Mike Knuble holding penalty. Malone deflected a
shot off his skate and the puck slid in on Martin Biron’s
short side to give the 'Pens a 1-0 lead.
Malone also assisted on the Penguins second goal as Malone
took the puck behind the Flyers and left it behind him.
Evgeni Malkin scooped it up and as Biron was looking right,
Malkin took the puck to the left post and tucked it in
before Biron could get back in time for a 2-0 first period
lead.
In the second period the Penguins not only withstood an
early Flyers power play, but scored again to put the 'Pens
up 3-0. Sidney Crosby might not have scored the goal,
but was largely responsible for it. Crosby stripped Mike
Richards of the puck on one end, and while retrieving
the puck at the other end of the ice, fed Marian Hossa
in the slot and Hossa ripped the puck past Biron for the
goal.
Malone was at it again while on the power play, Sergei
Gonchar snapped a shot from the point and Malone deflected
the shot home for his second goal of the game and gave
the Penguins a 4-0 lead.
The fun didn’t stop there for the Penguins as Jordan Staal
scored while coming down the slot as the puck was behind
the Flyers net. Maxime Talbot tried stuffing the puck
in but the puck came into the slot where Staal was there
to put a backhand shot past Biron to effectively put an
end any hopes of a Flyers comeback.
Unfortunately for the Flyers this wasn’t a prize fight
and couldn’t have been called off in the third period.
The Penguins added one more goal in the third as Pascal
Dupuis deflected a shot from the point that appeared to
float in on net and somehow found it’s way past Biron
for the final score of the game.
Despite the loss, Flyers head Coach John Stevens knew
his team came a long way this season.
“Working with this group has been one of the more enjoyable
experiences I’ve had in pro hockey," said Stevens. "We’ve
made some great strides this year.”
Stevens also knew his team ran into a buzz saw today.
“You give Pittsburgh credit. To me they were the number
one seed in the East in terms of what I’ve seen. They
are deserving to move on.”
While Stevens was singing the praise of his team, Flyers
President and C.O.O. Peter Luukko sang the praises of
his head coach.
“John came in last year, grew with the team, and look
where we are," said Luukko. "Look at how many teams would
have loved to have been in this position. I thought he
did a great job.”
Biron, who was stellar in the first two rounds, had a
tough go of it against the Pens all series. Still, Biron
also knew he, along with his teammates made great strides,
and also knows that the future looks bright for the team.
“I think we’ve got a lot of leadership in here. Richards,
Kimmo (Timmonen), "Hatch"," said Biron. "I thought that
there were some tough times during the year, and they
stepped up as leaders. This is tough, not just how we
lost but because that you work all year to get here and
just knowing the season is over is the tough part.”
The tough part now in reality is for the Flyers management
to do whatever it takes to bridge the gap between themselves
and the Penguins. The teams knows they are not that far
apart, but with the salary cap to consider, and some key
guys such as R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter to sign, it
might mean parting of the ways with some of the Flyers
older veterans.
But that is another story for another time. In the mean
time, the story of the day is, the Pittsburgh Penguins
are heading back to the Stanley Cup finals for the first
time since 1992. No matter who their opponent is, it us
sure to be a great series nonetheless.
Contact the author at Brian,Jennings@prohockeynews.com |
|
|
 |
|
 |
POWER
PLAY |
3RD
- 20.4 |
PENALTY
KILL |
22ND
- 81.0 |
FORWARDS |
EVGENI
MALKIIN |
47-59-106
(+16) |
SIDNEY
CROSBY |
24-48-72
(+18) |
MARIAN
HOSSA |
29-37-66
(-14) |
DEFENSEMEN |
SERGEI
GONCHAR |
12-53-65
(+13) |
RYAN
WHITNEY |
12-28-40
(-2) |
HAL
GILL |
3-21-24
(+6) |
GOALTENDERS |
MARC-ANDRE
FLEURY |
19-10-2
(4 SO)
2.33 GA
.921 PCT |
|
TY
CONKLIN |
18-8-5
(2 SO)
2.51 GA
.923 PCT |
|
|
|
