The Flyers played a strong opening 20 minutes tonight. They matched the Penguins at even strength throughout the game. Later on, they had plenty of chances to get at least a point out of the game in the third period.

It doesn't take much analysis to see that they failed in the three critical areas they needed to control in order to win:

* The Penguins' powerplay and penalty killing were better than the Flyers'.
* All three of the players the Flyers most needed to contain -- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Sergei Gonchar -- stepped up for Pittsburgh.
* Marc-Andre Fleury played a better game in goal than Martin Biron (that five-hole goal allowed to Malkin was a killer in a game like this). Fleury came up with some fantastic saves in the final period.

That's a losing formula against these Pens, folks. They won the Atlantic Division on merit.

Notes:

* Patrick Thoresen played a tremendous game tonight. If only he could finish every once in awhile.

* Even after Kimmo Timonen returned the game in the third period after once again getting hurt blocking a shot, he did not appear to be moving around too well.

* My one and only comment on the officiating: It left a lot to be desired, but didn't determine the outcome. From a Flyers standpoint, being put down on a 5-on-3 after a scrum was questionable at best. The non-call on the butt-end to the face Scott Hartnell received was glaring, as was Jarkko Ruutu's intentional knee-to-knee hit on Daniel Briere.

But there were also a couple bad calls on the Penguins and Philadelphia slashes and grabs on Penguins players not wearing #87 that were also let go. The Flyers also had a 4-on-3 in the third period they didn't capitalize on.

Bottom line: You can't worry about the officiating. You have to keep playing, and the Penguins outplayed the Flyers in enough areas to win.


********

The Flyers (40-28-11, 91 points) have gotten precious little help over the last few days from the teams playing the clubs against whom Philadelphia is competing for playoff positions. The Flyers will determine their own destiny, but face a brutal final gauntlet of three games starting with a road game tonight against the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins (46-26-8, 100 points).

The Penguins come into the game having played outstanding hockey ever since the All-Star break, especially at home. Over their last 11 games, the Penguins are 8-2-1. In Pittsburgh, they've been virtually unbeatable of late. They've won seven in a row at Mellon Arena, scoring nearly five goals per game (34 in all), while allowing just 11 goals against.

The Flyers dominated the early part of the season series with Pittsburgh this year, winning the first four games by a combined score of 23-8. But after a good start for the Flyers early in the fifth meeting, it's been all Pittsburgh ever since. The Penguins have won the last two games by a combined 11-4 score.

For the first time since December, both clubs will have most of their key players available when the teams face off. Sidney Crosby did not play in the last three games against the Flyers, but Evgeni Malkin more than picked up the slack, with three goals and five helpers. Veteran Gary Roberts (broken leg) remains out.

The Flyers, of course, will not have the services of either Simon Gagne or Derian Hatcher but should otherwise have their regulars available, including Vaclav Prospal (who missed the last game with the flu) and R.J. Umberger (six goals in six games against the Pens this season). Umberger will be a game-time decision, but is expected to be able to play with a brace to stabilize his sprained MCL.


GOALTENDING
The jury is still out on whether Marc-Andre Fleury is ready to be a top-notch NHL playoff goaltender. But he's been the man for the Penguins down the stretch and has been playing like the goalie Pittsburgh was counting on getting when they selected Fleury with the first overall pick of the 2003 Entry Draft. The book on him is still to try to get the goalie to commit first, but he's been square to the shooter far more often than not.

Fleury (1-1-0 in the season series, 2.50 GAA, .907 save percentage) had a pretty easy afternoon the last time the Penguins played the Flyers. Most of the 25 shots he faced in Pittsburgh's 7-1 victory were of the routine variety. In his career, he's faced the Flyers 16 times and has an 11-4-0 record with a 2.71 goals against and .920 save percentage.

The Flyers will counter with Martin Biron. Biron had a so-so outing in his last game against the Devils (and a miserable shootout, getting beaten badly on three of three shots). He was outstanding in his previous start against the Rangers.

Biron has won four of his six starts against the Penguins this season, and was strong in the Nov. 7 and Nov. 10 meetings. Since then, he's been average against the Pens. In the 7-1 game in mid-March, Biron let in an awful first goal that opened the floodgates. He was pulled early in the second period. For his career, Biron is 10-11-1 with three ties in 25 games against Pittsburgh. He's got a pedestrian .897 save percentage in those tilts, to go along with a 2.84 GAA.


TEAM DEFENSE
Usually in the NHL, whichever team scores first stands an excellent chance of winning. Unfortunately for the Flyers, scoring first against the offensively gifted Pens is not quite the same advantage as going up on some other teams.

The Pens have the NHL's fifth-best record (17-20-3) in games where they give up the game's first goal. During the first half of the season, the Flyers were well above average when scoring first, but have slumped to the middle of the pack (27-6-7, .675 winning percentage) when scoring first.

Last year, and during the first three months of the 2007-08 season, team defense was the Penguins' Achilles heel. A big part of the reason why the Flyers dominated the early part of the current season series with Pittsburgh was that the Pens were beatable four different ways:

They often had a wide gap between the forwards and defense and conceded plenty of skating room. They were turnover prone and tried high-risk plays. Opponents could get traffic in front of the net on the powerplay, and the Pens were often the Atlantic Division's softest team on the boards.

But as the season has rolled along, Pittsburgh has greatly improved its commitment to team defense. That has been an underrated key to the Penguins' success over the second half of the season. The Pens are still stronger offensively than defensively, but they can now win their fair share of low-scoring duels.

The Flyers' team defense has been spotty for much of the season. They played much better, more positionally aware hockey the last two times they played the Rangers. Philly needs to take that same approach to the Penguins.

In the six games played to date, the Penguins have averaged 27.5 shots per game against the Flyers. The Flyers have averaged 26.3 shots. Philly has blocked 77 shots to 65 by Pittsburgh.


TOP SCORERS
R.J. Umberger (six goals, 12 points), Joffrey Lupul (five goals, nine points in five games), Mike Knuble (four goals) and Mike Richards (one goal, eight points) have all regulary feasted off the Penguins in the season series this year. Jeff Carter and Daniel Briere have been less consistent.

For Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby has already racked up several big games against the Flyers in his career, but he was more or less contained in the first three games this season. Evgeni Malkin (5 goals, 13 points) has been the catalyst this season.

Going back to his days with the Capitals, defenseman Sergei Gonchar has alternatively picked the Flyers apart with his offensive abilities (especially on the powerplay) and contributed directly to a disproportionate share of the goals Philly has scored against his team. For his career, Gonchar has racked up 13 goals (eight powerplay, four game winners) and 42 points in 56 games against Philly.

Among the other Pens, Petr Sykora has five goals and nine points in the season series (11 goals and 33 points in 44 career games), while Ryan Malone is averaging a point-per-game (one goal, five helpers). On the flip side, Jordan Staal's sophomore slump has also extended to the Flyers-Pens season series. He has one assist to show for the six games after posting four goals and six points in last year's Penguins sweep of the season series.

SPECIAL TEAMS
The Flyers' 2nd-ranked powerplay (third on the road) has clicked at a 27% rate (10 for 37) in the six games against the Penguins this season. In order to win, Philly will need to continue their success in the remaining two matches against the Pens. Over the last three games with Pittsburgh, the Flyers are a combined 2 for 14.

On the penalty kill, the Flyers have survived 21 of 26 disadvantages ( 80.7%) against the Penguins, and will need to improve that a bit. Overall, Philly is 10th in the NHL with an 83.5% success rate on the kill (seventh on the road at 84.3%). The Penguins are 2 for their last 9 man advantages in the most recent three games with the Flyers.

Overall, Pittsburgh's 20% success rate on the powerplay ranks fourth in the NHL, as does the club's 21.8% mark at home. On the PK, the Penguins rank in the bottom six of the NHL at 80.8% but have been much better at home (84.8%, seventh in NHL) than on the road.


PHYSICAL PLAY
Although the Flyers have some good finesse players, they are most successful as a team when they have their physical game going.

When Philly is swarming the puck, finishing their checks and getting the likes of Mike Knuble or Scott Hartnell to the net, they are usually a more consistently effective club than when they try to run-and-gun.

In the six games against the Penguins this season, the Flyers have outhit the Pens four times, going 3-1-0 in those tilts. The single game high for Philadelphia was the six hits credited to Umberger in the 3-1 victory on Nov 7. Pittsburgh's high in the season series was seven credited to Jarkko Ruutu in the Pens 4-3 win on Feb. 10.

DISCIPLINED PLAY
There's plenty of bad blood between these clubs, and disciplined play has gone out the window in many of the games this season. It's not a question of how many fights there have been, although there have been scraps in every game so far, and 11 in total. There has also been plenty of chippy stickwork in the series, as well as several questionable hits.

Neither team has exactly been a collection of choir boys in the series, but the two most controversial incidents centered around Penguins' enforcer Georges Laraque (see Season Series in Review below).


THE FACEOFF CIRCLE
The Flyers club has been inconsistent on faceoffs all year., but have won the faceoff battle by a narrow margin in every game played against the Penguins this season.

In the six games, Mike Richards has won 59 of 115 draws (51.3%). Jeff Carter has won 55 of 105 (52.3%). Daniel Briere has won a healthy 53 of 93 (56.9%). Jim Dowd has only dressed in five of the games and taken 26 faceoffs in limited ice time but has won an outstanding 61.5% of them (16 of 26).

For the Penguins, faceoffs is one of the few areas where Evgeni Malkin (30 for 66, 45.4%) has not excelled against the Flyers this season. Sidney Crosby, however, won 56.9% of his draws (37 for 65) in the three games he's suited up against the Flyers this year. Jordan Staal has struggled mightily on draws (36 for 87, 41.3%).



FLYERS LINES AND SCRATCHES (based on recent starting lineups, subject to change)

Prospal - Briere - Hartnell
Thoresen/Upshall - Richards - Lupul
Umberger - Carter - Knuble
Cote- Dowd - Kapanen

Coburn - Timonen
Smith - Jones
Kukkonen - Modry

Scratches
One of Upshall or Thoresen (healthy)
Downie (healthy)
Tolpeko (healthy)
Parent (healthy)
Gagne (LTIR, concussion)
Rathje (LTIR, back)


SEASON SERIES IN REVIEW

* Nov. 7 (Away): Flyers 3 - Penguins 1

Early goals by Joffrey Lupul and Jeff Carter were all Martin Biron needed. Despite giving up a goal (Ryan Malone) in the final minute of the opening period, the Flyers maintained their focus and composure. Mike Richards restored the two-goal lead in the middle period and the Flyers played solid defense in the final period.

* Nov 10 (Home) Flyers 5 - Penguins 2

The Flyers' powerplay was the story of this game, Philly tallied four times on the man advantage in all, building a 3-0 lead on the strength of Kimmo Timonen (1 G, 3 A), Mike Knuble, and Joffrey Lupul goals on 5-on-4 advantages.

The Penguins got back to within one on goals by Malkin and, with less than a second remaining in the middle period, Sergei Gonchar. But the Flyers' powerplay struck again in the third (Daniel Briere) and Scott Hartnell added an empty netter. Mike Richards earned three assists in the game, all primaries.

* Dec 11 (Home) Flyers 8 - Penguins 2

Joffrey Lupul (3 G, 3 A) and R.J. Umberger (3 G, 1 A) both logged hat tricks in this game, and the Penguins blew their cool. Georges Laraque drew the ire of Philadelphia by going at Martin Biron's knees, and the Flyers had 13 powerplays in the game (4-for-13) to three for Pittsburgh. Mike Richards had another three assist performance on this night.

After the game, John Stevens said , "I didn't want to hear any more talk about our team and how undisciplined we are." Minutes later, then-Flyer Ben Eager and Penguins head coach Michel Therrien exchanged words in the hallway between the home and visiting team lockerrooms.

* Jan 24 (Home) Flyers 4 - Penguins 3

Pittsburgh native R.J. Umberger haunted his hometown club again with a goal and two assists. Unlike the previous two games, this one was a see-saw affair despite a significant shot advantage (33 to 24) in favor of the Flyers. Mike Knuble, who had been on a powerplay goal binge but had gone a month without an even-strength goal, scored five-on-five in the third period to win the game.

For the Penguins, Evgeni Malkin scored a goal in Crosby's absence, while Jordan Staal had arguably his best game of the season series.

Laraque was thrown out of the game for checking Steve Downie from behind in the closing seconds of the second period, Stevens sent out Riley Cote for the next faceoff. In the third period, Ryan Whitney scored shorthanded during Laraque's major penalty.

On the next shift, Downie fought Ryan Stone and was given a game misconduct for not having his fight strap tied down on his jersey. After the game, Downie said he forgot to re-do the strap after the Flyers trainers examined his shoulder during the second intermission.


* Feb. 10 (Away) Penguins 4 - Flyers 3

In a hellish weekend, the Atlantic Division leading Flyers suffered the second and third setbacks of what turned into a 10-game losing streak. In a Saturday afternoon home game with the Rangers, Philly got shut out and Braydon Coburn left the game early. The young defenseman needed emergency surgery for a ruptured artery in his buttocks. The following day in Pittsburgh, Simon Gagne was lost for the rest of the season as he sustained a concussion on a seemingly innocent play.

Things got off to a good start for the Flyers in the game, as R.J. Umberger scored his fifth of the season against the Pens. He later added another one.

But the Penguins took over the game by the middle of the first period, and the contest was not really as close as the final score indicated. Malkin was a one-man wrecking crew for Pittsburgh, racking up a goal and three assists.


* March 16 (Away) Penguins 7 - Flyers 1

This game marked one of the low points of the season. Philadelphia played putrid team defense and the Pens, already firing on all cylinders offensively, made the Flyers pay dearly.
The Penguins extracted a measure of redemption for the Dec. 11 game, as Malkin (two goals, two assists), Petr Sykora (two goals, two assists, eight shots), recently acquired Marian Hossa (one goal, one assist) and others had their way with Philly.

After awhile, the Philadelphia forwards started to simply stand around and watch their defensemen and goaltenders get abused.

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» Phantoms Take Game 1 vs. WBS, Farabee to Worlds

» Flyers Re-Sign Fedotov to Two-Year Contract

» Musings and Quick Hits: Flyers Power Play, Phantoms vs WBS Preview

» Quick Hits: Flyers Daily, Phantoms, TIFH

» Quick Hits: Phantoms Playoff Series Set