The Battle for Pennsylvania

So I think it's safe to say that the Atlantic division is the best in the NHL. For the second straight year, it's sent four teams to the post season. This year, three teams made it through the first round, and two made it to the Conference Finals. The Pittsbugh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers will meet tonight for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Finals. The rivalry between these two teams is intense, and this series is poised to go seven testy games. The two teams haven't met in the postseason since 2000, when Keith Primeau scored this memorable goal in five overtimes:





Offense: The Penguins have a lot of offensive firepower tied up in three guys- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa. While the Flyers cannot match the raw talent of those three, they have had the most balanced scoring in the league. The Flyers had seven players reach 20 goals during the regular season and have had similar balanced scoring in the postseason. R.J. Umberger is hot right now, and he has already made a name for himself for his play against the Penguins. The Flyers offense needs to come up big for them to move onto the finals. This will be a high scoring series.

Defense: The Flyers were dealt a huge blow Thursday when they found out that Kimo Timonen will likely miss the series due to a small blood clot in his ankle. Darian Hatcher, Bradon Coburn and Jason Smith will have to play flawlessly against Malkin and Crosby in Timonen's absence. The Penguins defense has been surprisingly strong this postseason, so it will be interesting to see how they respond to the balance that the Flyers present on offense.

Goaltending: Martin Biron has been great when his team has needed him to be, despite the fact that his numbers are actually worse in the postseason than they were in the regular season. However, Biron weathered the offensive pressure the Canadiens put on him and came up huge at the opportune time. The Flyers have confidence in him, and if he continues to play big, he could very well steal the show. Marc-Andre Fleury on the other hand has put up great numbers this postseason, but the Flyers will test his mettle. The Flyers like to crash the net and let the goalie know they're there so we will see how he handles the pressure.

Special Teams: The Flyers penalty-killing has been so-so although they have gotten the job done when they need to for the most part. Their powerplay is the best in the league of the teams remaining. The Penguins powerplay is potent and is just slightly lower than the Flyers. Their penalty killing has been stellar though.

Prediction: Flyers in 6. I just can't, in good conscience, pick the Penguins to win this series.


LETS GO FLYERS!