Round One: Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh

SensFan71 wrote:

504Heater wrote:This one I'm disappointed in. I wanted 7.

Pens are a bit too deep offensively I believe for the flyers this time, plus Fleury is just outplaying Biron.

Yeah, for sure. Coming in I was prepared for the Pens to win, but I want 7 no matter what. Fleury can be rattled, you just need to score 1 goal in the 1st period to get things off on the right foot.

504Heater wrote:

SensFan71 wrote:

504Heater wrote:This one I'm disappointed in. I wanted 7.

Pens are a bit too deep offensively I believe for the flyers this time, plus Fleury is just outplaying Biron.

Yeah, for sure. Coming in I was prepared for the Pens to win, but I want 7 no matter what. Fleury can be rattled, you just need to score 1 goal in the 1st period to get things off on the right foot.

and for Philly, hit early, hit hard, hit often, Crosby won't be able to take it and start to whine before 10 minutes is gone.

SensFan71 wrote:
and for Philly, hit early, hit hard, hit often, Crosby won't be able to take it and start to whine before 10 minutes is gone.

That too. Although, Crosby can take it and then score on you as his revenge. He's a cry baby, but when he just plays, he's awesome.

504Heater wrote:

SensFan71 wrote:
and for Philly, hit early, hit hard, hit often, Crosby won't be able to take it and start to whine before 10 minutes is gone.

That too. Although, Crosby can take it and then score on you as his revenge. He's a cry baby, but when he just plays, he's awesome.

Exactly, you're both right.

And now that Crosby has found his way onto the scoresheet, he will try to maintain that, so John Stevens must be telling his boys to just drill him and Malkin and drive the entire team crazy... And if the Flyers can score one or two quick goals in the 1st, we could see a change of momentum...

However, if the Pens come out flying, in their OWN building no less, the Flyers will have nothing else left but to simply hit to hurt...

That's tongue in cheek by the way, as I like the Flyers and their broadstreet bullies shenanigans are a thing of the past IMHO... They still hit like they mean it, but they are not goons first and hockey players 2nd, know what I mean...?
Plus, shipping Downey off proved to be a VERY smart move...

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh

7:00 PM ET, April 23, 2009
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

CBC/RDS/Versus

Flyers-Penguins Preview

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- No matter how many shots they take, how many hits they throw, how many chances they get against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers must find themselves wondering if they're replaying last season's playoff series all over again.

They get off to a slow start and they can't catch up. They can't find a way to get the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury consistently. They can't slow down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Just like last year.

Because they can't, the Flyers are down to what might be their last game of the season. On the road. In an arena where they are 0-5 during the playoffs the last two seasons.

"I don't think any of us would deny it's a big road in front of you now, a big hill to climb, being down 3-1," the Flyers' Mike Knuble said Wednesday.

Especially when the Flyers, who led Pittsburgh in the standings nearly all season, didn't expect to be on the verge of elimination in a Game 5 against Pittsburgh for the second successive spring. They lost Game 5 there 6-0 during the Eastern Conference finals last season, but no one among these Flyers expects a similar letdown Thursday night.

Coach John Stevens saw too many positives among all the negatives of a 2-1 loss at home in Game 4 on Tuesday night, when the Flyers were 0-for-8 on the power play and put only one of 46 shots past Fleury, yet still had countless chances to win.

Stevens isn't predicting outright the series will turn Thursday, but he obviously believes it could.

"I thought our team played unbelievable. ... I really think we're on the verge of something could happen here," Stevens said. "I honestly believe that. I like the way our team has gotten better every game in the series. We intend to continue that path here going back into Pittsburgh. I think our last game was our best game."

Except it was another loss, and the Flyers can't afford another of those against Pittsburgh. The Penguins once blew a 3-1 series lead, against the Islanders who they led 3-0 in 1975, but they haven't done it since. Of the 229 teams that trailed an NHL playoff series 3-1, only 20 recovered to win. The last to do so was Montreal against Boston in 2004.

The Flyers' only chance of making it to the second round is for the Penguins to falter badly.

That requires the Flyers to win twice in Pittsburgh, plus win another game in Philadelphia. It also means solving Fleury, who has controlled them most of the series. And maybe getting over the mental block of not being able to beat the Penguins when it counts. The Penguins are 7-2 in the playoffs against them the last two seasons.

"We know we're going to see their best game," the Penguins' Bill Guerin said. "They've been getting better every game. They played well (in Game 4). They'll rise to the occasion and hopefully we'll come with our best."

With the teams playing every other night as long as the series lasts, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma held an optional skate Wednesday in which mostly backups took part barely 12 hours after Game 4 ended across the state. Most players did only off-ice conditioning work.

Those players who showed up raved again about Fleury, who stopped 45 shots during what probably was his best career playoff game. His best save came against Daniel Briere, when Fleury shifted from one side of the net to the other while leaning backward to twist and make the stop. Former Penguins player Phil Bourque, now a radio color analyst, said such an acrobatic play belonged in Cirque du Soleil.

"It's one of the best goaltending performances I've seen in the playoffs," said Penguins forward Chris Kunitz, who saw similar goaltending from Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov while with Stanley Cup champion Anaheim in 2007. "He made a lot of point-blank saves for us. For whatever reason when they put the pressure on, he played his best."

With the Flyers on the power play so much, the Penguins needed every one of those saves in the kind of performance Crosby said every team needs at times to keep a playoff run going.

"He was there making the big saves when we had breakdowns," Bylsma said. "He had a couple of big glove saves there when they had guys in the slot. ... That was a game our goaltender won for us."

One more win, and the Penguins will advance to the second round for the second successive season. One more loss, and the Flyers will spend another offseason wondering how they let another series against Pittsburgh get away.

Last spring, the Penguins won Game 5s against the Rangers and Flyers while up 3-1.

"We want to finish it off," Crosby said. "As desperate as they are, we want to make sure that our intensity level is there and we play with the same amount (as the Flyers) if not more. Certainly we have to play with desperation, too. ... It takes four games and we've got three and it doesn't get any easier."

So do the Flyers get it together tonight or will we be hearing "Who Stole My Philly Cheese?"

Will the Mellon Heads be juiced as The Pingu Posse march into Round Two?

Will Marky Flower have the power?

Gosh...no excitement from anyone about Sid and Geno possibly moving on to Round Two.

not a fan of sid and i dont think the pens will get to the finals i think the bruins have the best chance in the east

philly has a 1-0 lead and pens have a disallowed goal off a kick

The Pens had the game under control in the first...but Asham's goal on a whiff by Marky Flower and the Geno goal being called back has given Philly a boost.

giroux score 2-0

satan is in? who is out for the pens.... i thought he never had shown up to the ahl when he was sent down.. i am majorly confused someone to clarify

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:satan is in? who is out for the pens.... i thought he never had shown up to the ahl when he was sent down.. i am majorly confused someone to clarify

Satan reported to Wilkes Barre...he was sent down for cap reasons. That is not a factor in the playoff so the Pens brought him back.

Sykora sits.

3-0 philly may be able to push this one to 7 as well

letang is out tonight as well...hmm is he injured or healthy scratch

Philyl showing their offensive depth right now. Carter, Richards, Giroux, Briere, Hartnell, Knuble, Gagne, Lupul... How many Top 6 forwards does this team have?
They will replace Knuble with Van Riemsdiek, it will look even scarier :****:

Tyler Kennedy looks like a pig. I hate his face.

Flyers took advantage of the Pens' absence of killer instinct tonight...and bought themselves another chance.

Biron looked damn good.

Pens and Marky Flowers, too slack in their defensive zone.

Giroux was terrific.