This one was over early in Pittsburgh as the Penguins routed the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night in Game 1, 7-0.
The Pens posted three goal in the first period and brushed the Flyers aside.
Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Evgeni Malkin struck in the opening frame to end the 
suspense in this match.
Matt Murray made 24 saves to get t the win.
“A win is a win,” Murray said. “We’ll take it, obviously, but in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter if you win 7-0 or 1-0 in overtime”
Sidney Crosby posted a natural hat trick after the Pens expanded the the lead to 4-0.
Jake Guentzel, made it 4-0 in the second before Crosby took over from there.
“We executed. We capitalized on our chances,” Crosby said. “I think there is always areas you need to improve on. … You have to get better with each game regardless of the score.”
There was little push back from the Flyers who may have been gassed from the late season push to get to the post season but they were outplayed in most aspects of the game.
“That’s one of the toughest ways to start a playoffs series, obviously,” Shayne Gostisbehere said. “But we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The last time I checked, they got to beat us four times. Obviously, they beat us 7-0. It really hurts. It’s obviously embarrassing, but it’s only 1-0 in the series, and there’s a lot of hockey to be played.”
This is one the Flyers will need to burn.
“It was one of the worst games I’ve been a part of. … They had their chances to score, and they went in. They made plays in tight areas, and we just have to find an answer coming next game,” Claude Giroux said after the loss.
[WATCH: All Flyers vs. Penguins highlights | Complete Penguins vs. Flyers series coverage]
Brian Elliott got the start but was given the hook midway through the second period after yielding five goals.
“It’s a loss,” Elliott said. “That’s all it is at the end of the day.”
Well, yes, but this was no contest.
Petr Mrazek finished the game and made 12 saves and surrendered two goals.
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