Flyers Vs Penguins Preview.

Unless you have been living under a rock, it is no secret that these two teams flat out don’t like each other. Sidney Crosby is one of the most disliked sports figures in Philadelphia. He is viewed by Flyers fans, as well as Flyers players as whiney cry baby who will go out of his way to take dives and fake injuries to get calls from the Refs. Whenever Crosby plays in Philadelphia he is welcomed by the league’s most intimidating fans with long loud chants that are too vulgar to be posted on this website. The animosity for one player has built into animosity between two teams. This leaves little doubt in anyone’s mind that this series is going to be an all out war, and an absolute pleasure to watch for hockey fans all around the world.

Penguins:
The Penguins made it this far in the playoffs by defeating the Ottawa Senators, and the New York Rangers. They made it through both teams in convincing fashion defeating the Senators 4-0, and the Rangers 4-1. The playoffs started for the Penguins marred with controversy however. Many felt that the Penguins tanked the final game of the season against the Flyers, so they would have a favorable match up in the first round of the playoffs (the Senators). The team they were trying to avoid facing in the first round? You guessed it, Philadelphia.

Key Players
Sidney Crosby
Marion Hossa
Evengi Malkin
Jordan Staal
Petr Sykora
Marc-Andre Fleury

The Penguins regular season record against the Flyers: 3-5

The Flyers

Philadelphia certainly had the tougher road to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Flyers had to face the hottest team in the NHL at the time in the first round, The Washington Capitals. Their series went seven games. The Flyers then had to face the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadians. The Flyers handled the Habs in 5 games.

The Flyers have displayed that they are one of the deepest offensive teams in the Playoffs, as well as one of the hardest hitting teams in the playoffs. The Flyers play a rough and tough in your face game, that matches up well against the Penguins defense whose toughness at times has been questioned. To win this series the Flyers must play the same type of game that they played against Montreal. Keep the shooters outside, so Martin Biron can see the shots. Biron has been extremely hot, and he has to continue playing well for the Flyers to win this series. If the Flyers can establish as strong forecheck in the offensive zone, as well as establish a presence in front of Fleury the Penguins goaltender, the offense should be very successful.

Key Players

Scottie Upshall
Danny Briere
Marty Biron
Vinny Prospal
RJ Umberger
Mike Richards
Jeff Carter
Scott Hartnell

Regular Season Record Vs the Penguins 5-3

Key Stats
The Penguins Rank 1st in the NHL Playoffs with a 1.89 GAA.
The Flyers Rank 10th in the NHL Playoffs with a 2.83 GAA.

Both teams have a 24% Power Play success Rate.

The Penguins have killed 89.5% of their Penalties
The Flyers have killed 77.2% of their Penalties.

The Flyers RJ Umberger and Danny Briere rank 2nd and 3rd in the playoff in Goal scoring. Umberger with 9 goals, and Briere with 8 Goals.

Crosby leads the playoffs in assists with 12.

Philadelphia’s Vaclav Prospal is ranked second in the playoffs in Face-off winning percentage at 61.8%.