Flyers Down Penguins 3-1

I should have known better than to start talking about the Penguins might be able to actually catch the Washington Capitals in the standings. Or to praise the Penguins' special teams.

The latter thing is what's what yesterday's 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Mellon Arena largely came down to. The Penguins again took an inordinate number of penalties -- 7 to be exact -- and allowed power play goals from Simon Gagne and Scott Hartnell to put them in a 2-0 hole they weren't ever able to get out of.

Kris Letang scored the Pens' only marker, also on a power play, about 1/2 way through the 3rd period to make things interesting and give the Flyers pause to think whether they would be the victim in the Penguins' 12th win when trailing after 2 periods this season.

But the Penguins got no closer. The Flyers sealed it with an empty net goal with about 30 seconds left. I'd tell you who scored it, but I literally don't know who the hell he is, which is saying something considering how much I follow the game.

I hate to give the Flyers credit. So I won't. I will say, however, that Martin Biron played better than we've seen him play in the past. In all fairness, though, the Penguins had plenty of chances they should have buried. Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy -- at least -- all had glorious scoring chances. Overall, the Penguins played the better game yesterday. They had the better of the play and only allowed 20 shots to the Flyers.

At least the Penguins finished the season series with Philadlphia on top, winning 4 of the 6 games. The Flyers will have a lot to think about if they match up with Pittsburgh in the first round -- a matchup that, although certainly not guaranteed at this stage, looks more likely with each passing day.

Officially now, the Flyers have the jump on the Penguins for 4th place in the East with yesterday's victory. They have 88 points, while the Penguins have 86. Philadelphia also has 3 games in hand on Pittsburgh, one of which they will use Monday when they battle New Jersey. In fact, the Penguins will be doing a lot of scoreboard watching in the near future. They only have 2 games in the next 8 days, one on Wednesday night against the Calgary Flames and another Saturday afternoon against the New York Rangers.

The Penguins are 3-1-1 on their current franchise-record 8-game home stand. They are now 12-3-3 under interim coach Dan Bylmsa.

Speaking of the Rangers, the Ottawa Senators did the Penguins a favor last night, beating New York in regulation, keeping them behind Pittsburgh in 7th place in the East. The Carolina Hurricanes remain right on the Penguins tail in 6th, however.

Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens are doing everything they can to fall flat on their faces and out of the playoffs in their franchise's 100th season, while the Florida Panthers still linger in 9th place, one point behind Montreal and 6 behind the Penguins. They have 2 games in hand on Pittsburgh.

More later this week.