The best playoff series in the East gets underway on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh between the Flyers and Penguins.

The Flyers are 5-1 at CONSOL Energy Center. They won a league-high 25 road games - again. Scott Hartnell think they truly have a "road" advantage.

Does it matter in this series when the Flyers don't have home ice?

"I think we have been a good road team all season long," Hartnell said. "The beginning of the year we were one of the hottest road teams and going into Pittsburgh, we have played well in that arena last couple years.

"We want to keep that going. You got to go through the good teams to get where we want to go and this is a great hockey team, Pittsburgh, that we are going to have to go through and why not bring them on right off the bat?"

Why have the Flyers enjoyed success over the Pens this season, winning 4 of 6 while not even being able to scratch out a win against the Rangers?

"I don't know," Hartnell replied. "In years passed it was flip-flopped and I think you get confidence, goalies make prominent saves. I don't know what it is.

"When you have a teams number hopefully you can keep on building on that. You just got to stay with it and keep going and go into their building and get one of out two."

There is a genuine dislike between these two clubs, going back to the 2000 series when Pittsburgh won the first, two games, then blew the series, losing in 5 overtimes in Game 5.

Something changed after that because when the two clubs met in the John Stevens Era it had become nasty and continues to be that way to this day.

"When you play a team that often ... especially in the playoffs when you play a team seven times in a row, it's pretty easy to hate them," Claude Giroux said. "We did that couple years back.

"They're good games. We're two good teams and everybody wants to win, so it makes for pretty good games.

"We gotta make sure we go game by game and not look at the big picture here. Everybody knows what to do in our system ... so we just gotta go out there and execute. If the guys do that, I like our chances."

Jaromir Jagr was a Penguin when they blew the 2000 series. He still has not forgotten that series or others.

"I remember one series I think we lost both of them," he said. "One I remember it was the last year Mario (Lemieux), we kind of didn't have a chance. We won one game we lost 4-1 in that series.

"They were a lot better than us. It was kind of emotional everyone knew Mario's last game in Pittsburgh and he scored last goal. It was pretty exciting. The other years, I remember we had a tough time to win in Philly as Pittsburgh and we won both games here.

"We roughed them I think and we lost 4 straight. I had tough time against Philadelphia when I was playing in Pittsburgh."

The Keith Primeau 5-OT game-winner?

"Well it's always tough especially mentally," Jagr said. "Could be 2-0 and it's 2-1 and you almost had it. You almost had the series and all the sudden you put them back in the game and in the series. The wins and losses in overtime and mentally it's awful."

Because he's been overseas for the past three years, it's been a while since Jagr has played in the playoffs. He admits missing it.

"The last playoff series I played was against Pittsburgh, then I took three years off and I'm here back again," Jagr recalled.

"That's probably what I missed the most, the playoffs in the NHL. It's great excitement for the players, for the fans. Every game is on NHL ... and every great play means a lot.

"You can change a series with one great play, or you can lose it with one bad mistake. That's why it's so crucial to play 60 minutes every game no matter what the score is."

I felt Jagr has looked tired down the stretch. Doesn't seem to have the same pep in his step he had earlier. I think it's been harder for Jagr to readjust to the grind of the NHL schedule because games here are so physical.

"Actually, I didn't feel tired at all," Jagr insisted. "I feel a lot better than I did before. Maybe I didn't score goals, but I felt pretty good. I was practicing a lot more than I did before."

And practice takes it out of you, as well.

Max Talbot, another former Penguin, says it should not be too hard working up a "hate" for the Penguins. Or vice-versa.

"I’m sure it will come out of a playoff series," he said. "It’s something that it’s gonna be a hard battle and intense hockey and I’m up for it and ready for it. Every year is different and obviously it has something to do with rivalry.

"Every game was hard fought. But there is different personnel on both teams. Even game to game, playoff momentum carries sometimes.

"But I remember even losing 5-0 and go back home and you get the first goal and win Game 6. Momentum or hatred it’s going to start Wednesday and it’s going to be fun."

Hartnell had a slightly different take on it.

"You always hate teams that are good, that play you tough and play you hard," he said, then paused to reconsider.

"I wouldn’t say I hate them. Hate’s a strong word. Definitely there’s guys in there that play hard and finish every check. Those guys are hard to play against. I don’t like them."

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