Penguins Look To Eliminate Flyers in Game 5

In a "whiteout" tonight at Mellon Arena in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal between the Penguins and Flyers (7 PM EST), Pittsburgh will look to eliminate their cross-state rivals for the second consecutive post-season.

The Penguins are 14-2 against Philadelphia at home, including the post-season, the last 2 years.

That statistic and a lot more make the road look long for the Flyers if they are going to get back into this series.

Even the Philadelphia writers aren't optimistic about their chances:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/20090423_Phil_Sheridan__For_Flyers__standing_still_is_falling_behind.html

But if the Penguins are smart, they'll finish the job at hand tonight.

Pittsburgh was good last year at finishing off teams early. They swept their first round series against the Ottawa Senators in 4 games, and beat the New York Rangers in round 2 in only 5 contests.

Then came the 5 game victory against the Flyers.

In each of those series', the Penguins did a good job not giving the other team life. They did lose game 4 against the Rangers and Flyers, but had already run up 3-0 series' leads in each. Given a second chance against New York and Philadelphia in each game 5, the Penguins left no doubt, particularly in the 6-0 whitewashing of the Flyers in game 5 of the East Final.

Pittsburgh showed a good killer instinct then, which they need to show again. They don't want to give the Flyers any life. 3-1 is a nice series lead and, while the Flyers have never come back from a 3-1 deficit in 13 times in their team's history, the Penguins need to exercise the utmost caution not to let Philadelphia think this could be the year they do.

Some say a 2 goal lead in hockey is the worst one -- not enough in the clear, and comfortable enough to ease off the gas pedal.

The same is true of a 2 game lead in the playoffs, especially at 3-1, and especially in this series.

Why?

Let's face it. Philadelphia has played at least on even terms with the Penguins in this series, unlike last year. An argument can be made that they should at least be tied with the Penguins, 2-2, in this one, if not possibly ahead 3-1.

The Penguins won game 4 largely on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulders and if not for that contest, and the comeback overtime win in game 2, the entire tenor of the series could be different.

That's no secret in Philadelphia:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/20090423_Flyers__They_re_in_a_different_kind_of_down.html

And that's another reason why the Penguins have to play their best game tonight.

Pittsburgh hasn't put out a strong 60-minute effort since game 1. If they don't tonight and the Flyers manage to capture game 5 and take the series back to a nasty Wachovia Center for game 6, Philadlephia will think they are right back in this series, and probably feel good about their chances of winning given how well they've played.

In other words, the Flyers certainly aren't as fragile as they have been.

If the Penguins get up on them early tonight, that could change, but the momentum is still there for the taking for the Flyers if the Penguins aren't careful.

To win game 5, the Penguins need to be more successful on the power play. RW Bill Guerin spoke yesterday of the need to move the puck around quicker. Pittsburgh definitely needs to do that, and they need to start hammering the puck on the goal more, too.

In addition to improving their man-advantage, I think the Penguins need to get better in the neutral zone cutting off the Flyers' attack. Their gap control between the defense and the forwards has slipped a bit the last few games.

Do those things and the Penguins' chances of winning game 5 will improve greatly.

I'll say this: The Penguins have done a good job of winning games multiple ways in this series. They have dominated a game, hung tough and came back to win a game in overtime, and had their goaltender steal a game. The diverse way they've been able to prevail is a good sign, because to get 16 victories and your name on the Stanley Cup, you need a little bit of everything.

But the Penguins would be well served by getting back to their game -- skating, being aggressive and being sharp defensively. If they start doing that consistently, they won't need to dip into their bag of tricks as frequently to win games in ways other than by being the best team with the best game each night.

Recap tomorrow. Let's hope the Penguins are staring at round 2.