PHILADELPHIA, Pa – It is deja’ vu all over again between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two teams met last season in the Eastern Conference finals. This time around it will be in the first round of the playoffs, but things have changed between the two teams since then. Usually, hockey fans do not get jacked up for a playoff series unless their team is involved or is in the Stanley Cup finals. But 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 be one of the most fun playoff series in recent years. And 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 right through the screen.
The bitterness between these two teams is reaching near World War Three levels. There have been some great rivalries that have hooked up in the playoffs over the years: Red Wings vs. Avalanche, Flames vs. Oilers, Rangers vs. Islanders, Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens, and Red Wings vs. Blackhawks. Heck, pit any two teams from the Original Six era and you are practically guaranteed a barn burner. It is time for hockey fans to add the battle of the Keystone state to the list of great rivalries.
Here is a preview of the Flyers/Penguins series.
Series overview
Both teams finished the regular season with 99 points, but the Pens have home-ice advantage due to having one more win than the Flyers. The Penguins won four of the six games in the season series, Counting Pittsburgh’s shootout winner in one of those wins, each team scored 21 goals in the series.
Both teams scored 264 goals on the season and were only one goal apart defensively, with the ‘Pens allowing 239 goals to the Flyers 238. The Flyers were sixth overall on the penalty kill, while Pittsburgh was eighth. The Flyers were sixth overall on the power play, while Pittsburgh was twentieth. The Penguins were 19th on face-offs, while Philly was 22nd. Sidney Crosby led all scorers in the season series with nine points while Evgeni Malkin had seven. Kimmo Timonen dished out seven assists while Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne each scored four goals. Marc-Andre Fleury was 4-1 with a .891 save percentage. Martin Biron struggled for the most part with a 2-2-1 record and .879 save percentage. Philadelphia The Flyers have virtually lived off of their offense for the most part of the season. The playoffs will be no different. Philadelphia finished the regular season fifth overall. The Flyers had six players with 25 or more goals, more than any team in the league.
Daniel Briere, who missed most of the season due to injuries had 11 goals in 29 games. Rookie sensation Claude Giroux had 9 goals in 42 games to round out the Flyers offense.
Just as it was last season, the Flyers defense has been their Achilles Heal. Things got worse as the season went along, not better. While the Flyers are not as physical on defense when they had Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher, they are more mobile. Timonen is the Flyers best defenseman and must play like it.
Timonen missed most of last year’s playoffs against Pittsburgh, as did Braydon Coburn. The Flyers are relatively healthy but need to play much better than they have at the end of the season where they have allowed a ton of odd-man breaks against them. They must be more conservative if they are to beat the Penguins
In order to do that, however, the Flyers will need to stay out of the penalty box. Once again the Flyers are one of the most penalized team in the league. That must change quickly of Pittsburgh will make quick work of the Flyers.
Despite the success that Fleury had in last year’s playoffs, he was not as consistent as he was last season.
The key to the Flyers’ success will be Biron. He must out duel Fleury unlike last season. In rounds one and two against Montreal and Washington last year, Biron was a difference maker. If he can lead the Flyers to the Cup finals, you can bet the Flyers will bring him back for at least one more run next season.
Biron has a goals-against average of 2.76. Last season it was 2.72. His save percentage at .915 percent. Once again it will be up to the Flyers collectively to reduce the amount of shots Biron sees in the playoffs. If they can do that, give the edge to Philly in the series. Pittsburgh All you need to say about the Penguins are the following four names: Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, and Gonchar. If all four are at the top of their game, the series will be a repeat of last season, and end in five games.
Malkin and Crosby are MVP candidates, and must play as such. The Flyers wasn’t expecting Malkin to control the series the way he did last year, but look for them to control him a little better than last time around. Crosby has killed the Flyers since coming into the NHL. Don’t expect much to change this series either.
Fleury might mean more to the Pens then Biron does to Philly. That might seem odd, but if Fleury has a bad series, it will mean the Flyers have gotten to him offensively.
Prediction This series will not end in only five games. The Flyers are a better team overall than last season, even if they are not so much so defensively. Still, until they can prove they can beat the Penguins, give the edge to Pittsburgh.
Penguins in seven.
Contact the author at brian.jennings@ prohockeynews.com
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