Flyers kick Penguins to the curb

Pennsylvania now belongs to the Flyers. 

There was certainly reason to be nervous after how Games 4 and 5 went but the Flyers quickly put any thoughts of a possible Penguins series win to bed by jumping out to an early lead in Game 6 and never looking back.  In the series that had a little bit of everything, Game 6 was fairly normal as the Flyers dominated from start to finish, winning 5-1 to send the Penguins packing.

Claude Giroux set the early tone for the Flyers, first crushing Sidney Crosby then picking up a goal 32 seconds into the game.  Giroux later added a pair of assists and continues his emergence into the upper echelon of hockey players.  In a series that featured Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, supposedly two of the top 5 players in the world, Claude Giroux was often the best player on the ice.

The series was also a coming out party for Sean Couturier, who not only had a hat trick in Game 2 but also made it his personal mission to shut down Malkin.  While Malkin had a fair amount of points, Couturier shut him down at critical moments and continually got under his skin.  It will be a lot of fun watching the 19 year old Couturier own Malkin for years to come.

With the Penguins pushed aside, the Flyers now wait for their next opponent.  Who they will play is still pretty up in the air depending on the outcomes of the Rangers/Senators and Bruins/Capitals series.  With the Flyers already having beaten the supposed Cup favorite, a deep playoff run certainly seems like a strong possibility.

Flyers continue to own classless Penguins, take 3-0 series lead

It's pretty clear at this point that the Flyers are in the Penguins heads.  After two thrilling comeback victories in Games 1 and 2, the Flyers completely embarrassed the Penguins in Game 3, dominating the ice in a 8-4 win.  The Flyers are now just one win away from sweeping the supposed Cup favorites out of the playoffs.

The Penguins showed a real lack of class in the game, melting down and turning to cheap hits when they couldn't keep up with the Flyers on the scoreboard.  From Sidney Crosby poking a glove aside to Arron Asham cheap-shotting Sean Couturier for no reason to James Neal taking shots on Flyers stars to Craig Adams pulling Scott Hartnell's hair, the Penguins made a mockery out of the game and turned in an ugly performance for the ages.  Expect at least Asham and Adams to get suspended and Neal to get a serious look at losing a game.

Nothing is over until the Flyers win that 4th game but it has been obvious which team is more poised, determined and willing to do the work necessary to make a deep playoff run.  This Flyers team is filled with young, hungry players that have no fear and won't back down from anyone.  No matter what happens in the next few games of this series and beyond, this is one incredibly exciting hockey team.  We'll see if they can keep it up against a team that actually plays defense.  For now, I'm relishing every minute against the team that "can't beat us!"

Flyers keep the good times rolling with win over Penguins

It's certainly a good last few days for Philly sports fans. First, the Eagles beat the Cowboys on Sunday Night, then the Cliff Lee extravaganza on Monday night, and now, on Tuesday, the Flyers beat the Penguins 3-2 to give them the most points of any team in the NHL. Add a Sixers win on Tuesday to the mix and you have an incredible stretch of Philly sports goodness.

Scoring goals for the Flyers in this one were Claude Giroux, Nikolay Zherdev (who scored a beautiful goal) and Scott Hartnell, who scored the game winner for the Flyers on a deflection.

To make the win even sweeter, the Flyers also snapped the Penguins 12 game winning streak. The Pens hadn't lost a game in regulation since November 10th.

Sure, there have been some negatives for the Flyers this season, like their anemic power play, but you can't ask for them to be in a better position than they are right now, atop the entire NHL. With the number of guys they have that can score goals, the Flyers shouldn't run into those huge lulls in scoring that have plagued them in recent years.

Your move, Eagles. Keep the good times rolling with a win over the Giants this weekend.
(AP PHOTO)

Flyers continue to own CONSOL Energy Center

Talk about a home away from home.

The Flyers are making themselves feel right at home at the Penguins new building, winning for the second time this season at the CONSOL Energy Center on Friday night. While both wins ended with the same 3-2 score, the season opening game and the game tonight started off on completely different notes.

From the drop of the puck, this one was ugly as the two rivals went after each other right away, with Mike Richards and Matt Cooke fighting just 6 seconds into the game. Things only escalated from there, as Jody Shelley and Deryk Engelland also dropped the gloves 17 seconds later and the two teams met for another scrum just a minute and a half into the game. All told, there were 9 penalties for 30 minutes in the first 2:35 of the game.

Things settled down from there as there were just a few scattered penalties by each team from that point forward. With all the penalties early on, the Penguins had several long stretches of power play time, but the Flyers shut them down, finishing the game a perfect 6 for 6 on the penalty kill.

The player of the game for the Flyers was Claude Giroux, who continued his breakout season by scoring two goals, one of them a shorthanded tally, his third of the season. With 6 goals in 10 games this season, the 22 year old Giroux is making himself quite a highlight reel and is on pace for nearly 50 goals this season.

The other Flyers goal was scored on a deflection by Dan Carcillo, who played in place of Nikolay Zherdev, who was a surprise scratch. Zherdev had recently been demoted to the 4th line in practice for his poor defensive play and Peter Laviolette seems to be sending a message to the young, enigmatic winger. Let's hope Zherdev responds and doesn't go into a funk like he did with the Blue Jackets a few years back.

While they are still trying to find a consistent mix, the win over the Penguins was the Flyers second straight and it did push them to the top of the Atlantic Division standings. The game against the very beatable Islanders tomorrow should tell us a lot about whether this team has turned a corner or whether they are going to be complacent once again against a team they should be able to handle.
(AP PHOTO)

Bobrovsky stymies Penguins as Flyers win season opener

I think Flyers fans will quickly get used to this Sergei Bobrovksy guy in net. In his NHL debut, the 22 year old rookie Bobrovsky turned aside 29 of 31 shots to help the Flyers beat the Penguins, 3-2, in their season opener. Sounds like we could have a new starting goalie in Philadelphia.

Bobrovsky played his best early on in the game, stopping all 15 shots he saw in the first period as the Flyers defense struggled to get control of the puck in their own end. As the game wore on, the Flyers defense clamped down a little more and Bobrovsky looked human, allowing 2 goals on 7 third period shots. In all, it was a quite a debut for Bobrovsky, who flashed his quick reflexes and looked nothing like a rookie playing his first NHL game against a strong offensive team like the Penguins.

As for the offense, after a rough first period, Danny Briere led off the scoring with a power play goal in the second and was followed up by goals from Blair Betts and Claude Giroux, who flashed some nifty stick-work to score a shorthanded goal in the third.

On top of all that, the Flyers also left their mark on the new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, scoring the first goal and notching the first win in the new building. With the win, the Flyers also are on pace to go 82-0 in the season, which sounds just about right!
(AP PHOTO)

Flyers deal rights to Hamhuis to the Penguins

Well, that didn't last long. Less than a week after acquiring the rights to soon-to-be free agent defenseman Dan Hamhuis from the Predators, the Flyers have shipped Hamhuis to the Penguins in exchange for a 3rd rounder in the 2011 draft. The Penguins will now have exclusive negotiating rights with Hamhuis until July 1st, after which he will become an unrestricted free agent. Yep, in a span of a week, Hamhuis has gone from a potential beloved Flyer to a hated Penguin. Ah, sports.

Apparently, the Flyers didn't want to sign Hamhuis for the amount of money he wanted. While my initial reaction to this deal was utter shock that the Flyers would make a trade with a division rival, when you take a look at the bigger picture you realize that the Flyers basically traded Ryan Parent for a 3rd round draft pick. While it is painful that the Flyers just made the Penguins a better team, the Flyers did get great value for a defenseman who was pretty awful in the playoffs.

So much for all of that "best Top 5 defensemen in the league" talk. Perhaps now the Flyers will turn their attention to their biggest need, getting a starting goaltender? More on that coming soon.

Cheaters? Penguins broadcast robbed Gagne of goal

As if we needed another reason to hate the Pittsburgh Penguins, apparently their TV broadcast crew are cheaters. As you recall, back on Thursday night, a shot on net by Simon Gagne was reviewed by the NHL back in Toronto but disallowed when there apparently wasn't a good view of the puck crossing the line. Even though subsequent replays showed that the puck did cross the line, the NHL had already ruled it "no goal" based on the replay footage they saw.

The reason the NHL never saw the footage of the puck crossing the line? According to what an NHL executive told Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer, FSN Pittsburgh, which was broadcasting the game, didn't send that particular video to the NHL until after it was ruled as "no goal".

Here is footage of the goal if you haven't already seen it:

Hmm, so was it an honest mistake by the Penguins telecast or was there some foul play involved here? And, if the Penguins did withhold evidence of a goal, will the NHL penalize them in some way? I'm sure the conspiracy theorists will have a field day with this one. All I can say is that I'm glad the non-goal didn't make a difference in the outcome of the game.

Penguins vs. Red Wings: Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

Here we go again! The Stanley Cup Finals are set to kick off today, and things look pretty familiar. For the first time since 1984, we have two teams squaring off in a re-match with the Stanley Cup on the line. The storyline is much the same as last year, with the young Penguins facing off against the battle-tested Detroit Red Wings. Of course, a few things are different, like the team that Marian Hossa plays for and the health of a few key players for the Red Wings.

After going 2 for 2 in my Conference Finals picks, here is my pick for the Stanley Cup Finals. I was tempted to simply re-post my pick from last year when these two teams played, but although the prediction is the same, the reasons for the pick are slightly different.

Stanley Cup Finals
Pittsburgh vs. Detroit
Detroit in 6
With how evenly matched these two teams are, this is a tough prediction to make. Both teams feature quality top-end scoring talent, deep forward lines, solid defense and a goalie who is just good enough when he needs to be. Neither team really has momentum on their side, either, since both simply rolled over their opponents in the Conference Finals. The Penguins are the healthier team, but Detroit has the better talent all-around.

So, when two teams are so closely matched on paper, you start to look at the intangibles. Which team has tons of playoff experience? Which team has guys who have been through the war and know what it takes to win? Which team has done it before? The Red Wings are the answer to all of those questions, and therefore are my pick to win it all.

Of course, the Penguins are capable of proving me wrong. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been fantastically good, putting up possibly the best numbers for any teammates in NHL Playoff history. These guys can carry the Pens without any help from their teammates, so it will take quite an effort from the Red Wings defense to slow them down. The health of Nicklas Lidstrom, who appears set to go, will be a big determining factor as to how well Detroit can contain the Big Two.

Detroit will also be without Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper for at least the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals, so their depth will be tested. Luckily, they have a slew of quality forwards who can step into the gaps and the team won't miss a beat. The Red Wings are a fine-tuned machine, and if one of the gears goes out, they simply replace it with one of the many parts they have lying around. The Wings also have a slightly better defense than Pittsburgh, plus a goaltender who has a few Stanley Cups under his belt already.

The Penguins are getting closer, but they still don't have what it takes to take down the Red Wings juggernaut. The Wings have too much talent, depth and experience to be knocked off. The only thing that could possibly hold them back is if a few more players are sidelined due to injury, but even then, a second straight Stanley Cup seems inevitable. With the mess that has gone on in Detroit over the last year, it will be nice to see Hockeytown celebrate another win.

Flyers blow three goal lead, get eliminated by Penguins

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Talk about a game with a roller coaster of emotions. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period of Game 6, it looked like a given that the Flyers would be forcing a Game 7 against the Penguins back in Pittsburgh. But, from the moment the Flyers got that three goal lead, the Penguins took over the game, scoring five unanswered goals to earn a 5-3 victory that eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs.

The entire game seemed to turned shortly after Daniel Carcillo fought Maxime Talbot in the second period. The fight happened just 15 seconds after the Flyers scored their third goal and it worked like a charm to fire up the Penguins, who scored 14 seconds after the scrap. From that point on, it was all Penguins, who attacked the Flyers relentlessly, getting several power play chances and eventually tying up the game before the second period was over.

The Penguins had all the momentum in the third period and got an early goal to break the tie and never looked back. The Flyers tried to rally back into the game and had several good opportunities but the Marc-Andre Fleury from Game Four showed up and stood on his head to keep the Flyers at bay. Philly threw everything they could at Fleury but he remained calm and turned aside every attack.

The Flyers looked to have the game won when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after goals by Mike Knuble, Joffrey Lupul and Danny Briere. The big lead had the stadium jumping and the Flyers buzzing, but the Penguins kicked things into another gear from that point forward. It's difficult to say if the Flyers let up at all with the lead but they certainly weren't playing with as much desperation as they were at the beginning of the game.

So ends another Flyers season at the hand of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I will have more to say about what possible changes they should make in the offseason at a later time, but it is safe to say that this season was a disappointment. When you have a young team like the Flyers who went to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, you expect them to build on that and go at least as far in the playoffs and maybe get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Instead, the Flyers were up and down all year, completely lacking consistency, and that cost them a higher seed in the playoffs and therefore an easier first round opponent. The Flyers also blew it in the last game of the season when they failed to wrap up home-ice advantage over these Penguins.

Another year, another disappointment for Flyers fans. Philly still has a tremendous nucleus of players, so if they can just add another defenseman and figure out what to do in goal, they will still have an opportunity to contend for the Cup for the next few years. Not a bad season by the Flyers, but it's fair to expect much more in the future.

Biron blanks Penguins to keep Flyers alive

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In the 2008 NHL Playoffs, Martin Biron played the best hockey of his career and the Flyers rode him to the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, Biron hasn't been bad but he also hasn't been great, and the Flyers have floundered as they were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Penguins after a Game 4 defeat. If the Flyers were going to make a comeback in the series, they would need Marty Biron to play like he did last year.

Which is exactly what Biron did in Game 5 as he shut out the Penguins in a 3-0 Flyers victory. Biron held off a strong initial rush by the Penguins, who tried desperately to score the first goal, and made 28 stops in all. Marty was able to coast later in the game as the Flyers played great team defense that limited the Penguins scoring chances. It was the kind of defensive effort coupled with strong goaltending that is a staple of teams that go deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Flyers didn't explode offensively in this game but they did score timely goals. After a scoreless first period, the Flyers got on the board when Arron Asham netted a rare goal. Rookie sensation Claude Giroux and Mike Knuble also scored for the Flyers. It was Knuble's first goal in the playoffs and it was a long time coming.

The series will now return to Philadelphia for Game 6, something the Penguins desperately wanted to avoid. With the rabid Philly fans rocking the house, the Flyers have a huge home ice advantage. If they can find a way to win Game 6, then it's all on the line in a Game 7 where anything can happen.

I was one of the many who thought the Flyers season was over after losing Game 4. It's amazing how one win can turn all of that doubt into hope. Winning two more games, one at home and one on the road, doesn't seem like too tall of an order, especially for a streaky team like the Flyers.

Penguins, Fleury push Flyers to the brink of elimination

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

The NHL playoffs are all about goaltending. The team that has the hottest goaltender always wins, no matter how well the other teams plays. Such was the case tonight as the Flyers completely outplayed the Penguins, yet lost 3-1 because Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stood on his head all night. The loss pushes the Flyers to a 3-1 series hole and puts them in a near impossible uphill climb.

The Flyers out shot the Penguins 46-26 and had 8 power play chances but just couldn't get anything past Fleury. After a scoreless first period, Pittsburgh scored two goals (one of them a very questionable goal by Sidney Crosby) in the second and then sat back and let the Flyers attack. The Flyers were finally able to solve Fleury midway through the third period when Dan Carcillo notched a rare goal which brought the fans out of their seats for the remainder of the game. The Flyers had chance after chance as time ticked away but couldn't get anything past Fleury and eventually gave up an empty net goal that iced the game.

This loss likely signals the end of the Flyers season. There is little chance the Flyers can win three straight games against a Penguins team that is so evenly matched with Philly. On top of that, two of the last three games are in Pittsburgh, so the Flyers are basically toast. It will be a disappointing quick exit out of the playoffs for the Flyers, especially after the run they made last season. I will write more later in the offseason about what changes the Flyers should make, but it's clear that they need to do something to shake up this inconsistent group.

For today, however, tip your cap to Marc-Andre Fleury. As much as we all hate him, he had a tremendous game for the Penguins. There really wasn't anything the Flyers could have done to change the outcome of Game Four.

Flyers use energy and intensity to down Penguins in Game Three

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Now that's more like it! The Flyers, in winning Game Three against the Penguins 6-3, showed everything they seemed to be lacking the first two games of the series: intensity, a sense of urgency and the ability to not take bad penalties. Maybe it was the home ice or maybe it was the realization that their season was on the line, but whatever it was, the Flyers from the 2008 playoff run finally showed up.

The Flyers jumped out to an early lead when Jeff Carter scored a nice goal, his first of the playoffs, and Mike Richards added another just five minutes into the game. Philly played with a ton of intensity, hitting the Penguins every chance they got and getting into fights after nearly every whistle. Slowly but surely, the Penguins did fight back into the game as they scored a goal late in the first period and early in the second to tie the game at 2. The Flyers would not be denied, however, and scored the next three goals in the game to take a commanding lead that they never looked back from.

The biggest story of the game, besides the increase in energy as a team, was the emergence of Claude Giroux. Giroux, who is just 21 years old, had an amazing game in just the third playoff contest of his career. He had a goal and an assist, with the goal coming on a nice feed from Danny Briere and the assist coming off a beautiful pass to Simon Gagne for a shorthanded goal. No matter how this series turns out, it has been amazing to watch Giroux step right into his first playoff series and shine.

The Flyers seem to have life again despite trailing 2-1 in the series. Game Four is basically another must-win game since it's unlikely the Flyers will be able to win two games in Pittsburgh. Of course, if they show up with the same intensity and drive to win that they showed today for the remaining games of this series, they shouldn't lose again.

Bad penalties cost Flyers in Game Two overtime loss to Penguins

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Flyers coach John Stevens was not happy with how the Flyers took bad penalties in Game One that led to the Penguins cruising past Philly in Game One. He stressed that his team would be more disciplined for Game Two and that would translate to a much better effort.

Stevens was right. The Flyers were more disciplined in Game Two against the Penguins, at least for the first 45 minutes or so. With the Flyers up 2-1 late in the third period, Jeff Carter was called for hooking Jordan Staal. Carter clearly did nothing wrong on the play as Staal made a smart play to make it look like Carter's stick was hooking him down. Regardless, the Penguins proceeded to tie the game up on the ensuing power play, forcing the game into overtime, where the Flyers really came unhinged.

After a tense 15 minutes of up and down overtime action where the two teams traded chances, the Flyers found themselves on the power play with a great chance to win the game. Two terrible penalties by Mike Knuble and Claude Giroux later, the Flyers are down 5 skaters to 3 and basically hoping the Pens didn't score. Bill Guerin did the enevitable and won the game for the Penguins, 3-2, giving Pittsburgh a commanding 2-0 series lead.

We always talk about the Flyers being a team that uses toughness and grit to will themselves to victory. When the Flyers stay within themselves and don't become over-aggressive, they are a great team. When they take dumb penalties, like Knuble's stupid cross-check on the power play and Giroux's mindless slash, they are a boneheaded team that doesn't deserve to win.

Those two penalties negated all the positive things the Flyers did for the first three periods of the game. Because, really, the Flyers played much better in Game Two than they did in Game One. They played with much more intensity, jumped out to a lead in the first period and showed a willingness to make the tough plays and do the little things it takes to win. No one will remember all of those good things they did; instead, they will remember the two dumb penalties the Flyers took that cost them the game.

The series will now return to Philadelphia with the Flyers down 2-0, but it isn't over yet. The Flyers need to win the next two games to get back into it, but they are still very much alive. That is, they are alive if they play smart hockey and stay disciplined. If the Flyers lose either Game Three or Game Four, they are done. There is no way the Flyers are going to be able to pull off 3 or 4 straight wins against this Penguins team.

There isn't much that separates the Flyers and the Penguins. Game Two was an evenly played contest between two very evenly matched teams. If the Flyers could have kept their heads, the game likely would have gone one or two more overtimes and it would have been won on a lucky bounce here or there. Unfortunately for the Flyers, their discipline failed them at the wrong time.

Flashback to the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals: The Flyers get worked by the Penguins

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Talk about starting the playoffs off with a whimper. If I put as much effort into this post as the Flyers showed on the ice tonight, I would write about two sentences. The post would get pretty good in the middle but the beginning and the end would be completely worthless.

In a game that looked way too much like the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, the Penguins manhandled the Flyers in a 4-1 victory to take the first game of the series. The Flyers barely showed up to play, apparently unaware that the playoffs even started today. The Penguins stars led the way as Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both had a goal and an assist. Marc-Andre Fleury also played well in net for the Penguins when he had to, although there were long stretches where he could have been napping.

The Flyers did show some life in the second period but didn't get any goals to show for it. Inexplicably, the team woke up at the end of the game and decided that beating people would solve all of their problems, getting 21 penalty minutes in the final 20 seconds of the game. They may want to try those kind of tactics when they can actually do the team some good.

There isn't much else to say about the Flyers after this game. Whether it's a matter of the Penguins having their number or that the Flyers simply aren't any good, Philly got worked tonight. We all know that the Flyers can play better than they showed tonight, we have seen it all season long. During stretches, they can be one of the best teams in the league. The problem is, in other stretches, they can be one of the worst. Whichever Flyers team shows up in Game Two will go a long way to determining if this will actually turn into a series.

The optimistic Flyers fan will point to the fact that they lost every Game One in last years playoff run. The pessimistic Flyers fan will point to the fact that they lost Game One against the Penguins last season, too, and we all saw how that turned out.

Flyers vs. Penguins: First Round Breakdown

Here we go again! Every Flyers player and fan has been waiting for this ever since the Penguins handled Philly in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. It's time for the Keystone Clash to continue, this time early in the playoffs when both teams are fresh. A lot has changed since these teams last met in the playoffs, including the Flyers being much healthier along the blueline and the Penguins being robbed of much of their depth in the offseason. Having won 18 of their last 24 games of the season, the Penguins are the hotter team entering the series, but you can throw away records and streaks when these two teams play. Expect a long, hard-fought series between two teams that truly do not like each other with the winner emerging battered and bruised after 6 or 7 grueling games. Let's take a closer look at how these two teams matchup and see who comes out ahead.

Offense: This essentially boils down to depth vs. top-end talent. Everyone knows about the Penguins top two scorers, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who both finished with over 100 points on the season and are a threat to make a pretty play every time they touch the puck. After those two, the offense takes a big dive, with Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal the next biggest threats. Since they lost Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa in the offseason, the Penguins secondary players haven't been nearly as good and that leaves the Pens with really only two scoring lines. Of course, they do get plenty of offense from defenseman Sergei Gonchar, but if the top scoring threats can be slowed down (not an easy task), there is little bite left in the Penguins attack.

The exact opposite can be said of the Flyers, they have depth all throughout their forward lines. Six forwards scored 25 goals, the most for any team in the league, and those six don't include Danny Briere and Claude Giroux, who weren't with the club for most of the season. The Flyers roll three solid scoring lines, with tremendous depth down the middle in Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Giroux. The 4th line is largely a throw away line, although Darroll Powe has proven to be an effective penalty killer. With the Flyers, other teams have to pick their poison. Should the Penguins put out their shut down defensemen against the Gagne/Richards/Knuble line or against the Hartnell/Carter/Lupul line? And what do you do against Giroux and Briere, who have eyes in the backs of their heads and routinely make beautiful passes? It's not an enviable position to be in. Because of that, I give the Flyers a slight edge in offense. The Penguins top two are incredible talents but no team in the NHL can match the depth the Flyers are throwing out there.

Defense: This is the biggest difference between the series last year: Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen are healthy. The rest of the Flyers defense is nothing to get too excited about, although Ryan Parent has been solid when paired with Timonen. The Flyers certainly spend most of their cap money on forwards, and it shows in their lack of depth on the blueline. It will be nice to have Luca Sbisa back with the club as the 7th defenseman but one has to wonder if the rookie will be able to step up to the intensity of playoff hockey if he suits up.

The Penguins defense is solid but unspectacular. Sergei Gonchar is the blue chipper on the back line and is arguably the best offensive defenseman in the league. Hal Gill and Brooks Orpik are also solid stay-at-home defensemen who lead the rest of the disciplined blueliners. Pittsburgh as a team plays a really aggressive style which leads to both the forwards and defensemen trying to force turnovers, so any weaknesses they have on D can be masked. For this reason, I give the slight edge to the Penguins. The Flyers defense is prone to too many breakdowns and that will kill them against talent like Crosby and Malkin.

Goaltending: Martin Biron and Marc-Andre Fleury put up very similar numbers this season but got to those numbers in very different ways. Biron has been up and down all season, looking locked in one night and completely lost the next. He hasn't proven that he is a true number one goaltender in the NHL, although if he can somehow flip the switch and play like he did in the playoffs last year, things would be very different. Fleury is the more consistent goaltender, playing well in the playoffs last year and covering up the mistakes that the Penguins attacking style can sometimes leave open. Everyone knows that NHL playoff series are won by whichever goaltender is hotter, so Fleury gets the edge in the goaltending department because his play has heated up down the stretch. Look for Biron to do everything in his power to prove that he is a better goalie than he has shown recently.

These two teams appear to be about as even as you can get. The Penguins are the slightly better team on paper but the Flyers are known for overcoming long odds in the playoffs. While you may accuse me of being a homer, I like the Flyers to win the series in seven games. It will be a tough series between two teams determined to have the same playoff success they had last season. This will easily be the best series in the first round, with plenty of entertaining games and lots of interesting matchups to follow. Hopefully the Flyers can slow down Crosby and Malkin enough to get themselves out of the first round. From there, let's hope they aren't too beat up to make another deep run.

Flyers vs. Penguins: Series begins Wednesday

The NHL has released it's schedule for the first round games and the Flyers and Penguins will begin their epic series on Wednesday, April 15th. Here is the complete schedule of games for the series:

Game 1: Wednesday, April 15, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Friday, April 17, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, April 19, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Tuesday, April 21, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Game 5: Thursday, April 23, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Game 6: Saturday, April 25, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Monday, April 27, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, TBD

All playoff series start on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. While the Flyers don't have the home ice advantage against the Penguins, we can all remember how well they did last season in the playoffs and they never had home ice over any opponent. There will be much more on the NHL playoffs in the coming days on this site.

Click here for a complete list of all first round series schedules.

Flyers will face Penguins in first round in Battle of Pennsylvania Part 2

The picture above is from the last time these two teams met, in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but this year the Flyers and Penguins are going to begin the playoffs facing one another. With the Flyers beating the Islanders today for the 6th time in 6 tries this season and the Penguins knocking off the Canadiens, both teams have assured themselves either the 4th or 5th spot in the Eastern Conference. Who gets the 4th seed and therefore the home ice advantage has yet to be determined because both teams are tied with 99 points and the Flyers still have one more game to play. The Flyers play the Rangers tomorrow and if they win or tie, they will get the 4th seed. If they lose, the Penguins are the 4th seed because they have one more win this season.

Facing Pittsburgh is going to be no easy task for the Flyers, especially with the way the Penguins have finished out the season winning 9 of their last 12 games. The Pens also took the season series against the Flyers, 4-2. It will be a rough first round battle that is sure to go 7 games and leave the winner beat up for whoever they play in the second round.

The Battle for Pennsylvania is on, let's hope the Flyers can have a better showing this season than they did in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. Look for much more on the series in the coming days.

Flyers turn Penguins aside, solidify playoff position

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In a possible preview of the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers had a nice all-around effort as they downed the Penguins 3-1. It was a big win for the Flyers on National TV as they further solidified their hold on the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference. They are now up 2 points on the Pens with 3 games in hand.

The Flyers got two goals on the power play, one by Simon Gagne and the other by Scott Hartnell, and Darroll Powe later added an empty net goal. Marty Biron also continued his strong play of late by stopping 27 of 28 shots. He is certainly rounding back into the form he showed in last years playoff run.

Even more notable for the Flyers was their defensive effort. While the Flyers were outshot 28-20, the didn't allow a shot on goal by either of the Pens star players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. While that's probably a bit of a stasticial anomaly and may never happen again, the Flyers did a good job of keeping two top scorers in the league from getting inside and firing away.

If the season ended today, the Flyers would face these same Penguins in the first round. Barring a late season dive, Philly appears pretty locked in to the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. With three teams within two points of one another, there will be a battle for the 5th spot between the Pens, Hurricanes and Rangers. As much as I would love watching an early Keystone State series in the playoffs, I think I speak for most Flyers fans when I say that I hope the Pens take a dive and Philly gets to play anyone else in the first round. A battle with Pittsburgh would be fun, but it would be an actual battle with a ton of attrition for whichever team manages to survive into the second round. A nice easy series against someone like the Rangers is a much better way to start a nice, long playoff run.

Penguins vs. Red Wings: Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

The Stanley Cup Finals will kick off Saturday so it's time for me to weigh in on who I think will take home the Cup. So far in this playoff season, I am 11 for 14 in picking the teams that will advance in each round. Of course, I have rarely been right as to how many games each series will take so I won't be calling myself a hockey genius any time soon. Read on to see who I think will win the Cup.

Stanley Cup Finals
Pittsburgh vs. Detroit
Detroit in 6
As much as it pains me that the Flyers are no longer playing, this should be a very entertaining series between two evenly matched teams. You have the Penguins with all their young guns and stellar team defense going against the Red Wings and all their older guns and stellar team defense. You have two goalies who aren't spectacular but they manage to make all the necessary saves. You also have a ton of superstars on both teams that have won numerous individual awards but are looking to take home the one trophy that matters the most.

Pittsburgh proved they were better than the Flyers in all aspects of the game. Their offense is loaded with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby getting all the attention from the other team, opening things up for studs like Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone. Their defense lacks one true standout but they benefit from an entire team approach to shutting down the opposition. Marc-Andre Fleury also appears to have overcome his playoff demons and elevated his game to be just good enough to always be in the right place at the right time. The Pens will not look as fast against a team like Detroit because the Red Wings can match them stride for stride, but they are still a very dangerous team with a ton of weapons.

The same can be said of the Red Wings. Even without Johan Franzen, the star of the first two rounds of the playoffs who is still out with concussion symptoms, Detroit has a bevy of players who can light up the scoreboard. Most of the Wings offensive punch is found on their first line in Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, but they have plenty of role players who find ways to score when the team really needs it. If Franzen comes back at some point in the series, the Red Wings would have a big advantage offensively, but for now, the Penguins depth makes them the slightly better group of forwards.

Where the Red Wings have an advantage is all the star power along the backline, starting with multiple-time defensive player of the year Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom will be the best player on the ice and it will be up to him to shut down one of the Penguins dynamic forwards, Crosby or Malkin. Fortunately for Detroit, they have several other defenseman who will also be up to the task of shutting down the Pens, including Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and the ancient Chris Chelios (when he is healthy enough to play). Where the Flyers lacked the defensive depth to keep up with the Penguins' horses, the Red Wings have an abundance of blueliners who can shadow and disrupt the Pens attack.

The Red Wings are my pick to win the Stanley Cup because while these teams are pretty even across the board, I give Detroit the advantage on defense. The way these two teams play, it won't be the goaltenders that will win the games, it will be whichever team plays better defensively. Because the Red Wings have the experience, skill and depth to slow down the Penguins attack, the will be the ones bringing home the Stanley Cup this year. Now if only they could find a way to fill all of those empty seats in Hockeytown......

Orange Crushed: Embarassing end to the Flyers' season

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

So much for a miracle comeback. The Penguins dominated the Flyers in every facet of play, beating them 6-0 in Game 5 to win the Eastern Conference Finals 4 games to 1. The Flyers season ends on a sour note but we shouldn't forget how far they have come since last season. From the worst team in hockey to a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals is an amazing turnaround, it was just too bad it had to end the way it did today.

Pittsburgh scored early and often in the rout. Despite the return of Kimmo Timonen, the Flyers defense looked slow and couldn't keep up with the Penguins forwards. The Pens were allowed to build up a head of steam heading into the Flyers zone and they used it to set up a ton of scoring chances.

Martin Biron also picked a bad time to play his worst game of the playoffs. Biron made a couple of head-scratching plays that led to goals and let in a few softies. Things got so bad for him in the second period I expected him to get pulled, but John Stevens allowed Biron to finish out the game. He managed just 19 saves on 25 shots.

The Penguins played a complete game of hockey. They got strong defensive play, great goaltending and solid offensive contributions from their forwards. They were the better team throughout this series and deserve to be representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. They will be a tough team to beat for whichever team makes it out of the West.

So the Flyers season ends with them playing poorly. It was a bad way to go out, but it certainly didn't represent how they played all season. The Flyers showed a ton of grit and determination to get as far as they did, especially considering they were the 6th seed in the East. This team was not expected to get as far as it did this year, they are built to be a contender down the road. They have a ton of young talent in Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger who got great playoff experience this year and they still have Claude Giroux and first round pick John vanRiemsdyk coming down the road. This team is still a few years away from hitting its peak, so we should have plenty of deep Stanley Cup runs in our future.

I will have much more to say about the Flyers and what they need to do this off-season in the coming weeks, but for now we should celebrate how far they came this season. We can be pissed off with the way it ended, but every Flyer fan needs to look at the big picture and understand how good this team will be. It's the worst saying for fans of Philadelphia sports, but it's true: There's always next year. Of course, there is always the Phillies this year, too.