The Phanatic Magazine
Philadelphia Flyers: 44-27-11, 99 pts. 264 goals for, 238 goals against, 3rd place, Atlantic Division.
Pittsburgh Penguins: 45-28-9, 99 pts. 264 goals for, 239 goals against, 2nd place, Atlantic Division.
Season Series: Penguins won, 4-2-0.
Prior Meetings: Flyers lead 3-1. Won in 1989 Patrick Division finals, 1997 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, 2000 Eastern semifinals. Lost in 2008 Eastern finals.
OFFENSE
The Flyers boast six full-strength players with at least 25 goals, and they happen to be the top six forwards. Jeff Carter is tops in the group with 46, second in the NHL. After that, things get a little thin. Following the salary-cap induced Scottie Upshall-Dan Carcillo deal, the third and fourth lines haven't provided much support.
Next to Joffrey Lupul (25 goals), the next highest total from a forward is 11 from an injury-hampered Danny Briere in 29 games. Then, Claude Giroux with nine over half a season, then third-line grinder Arron Asham with eight in 78 games.
On the other hand, the Penguins have a pair of weapons in Evgeni Malkin, the Art Ross Trophy winner with 113 points and Sidney Crosby (third in the league) with 110.
Although Pittsburgh only has four players with 20-or-more tallies, they outstrip their opposition with a whopping 11 skaters with at least 10 scores on the year.
The salary-cap subtractions of Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from last year were ably filled by Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan, as well as trade-deadline acquisitions Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz.
In terms of playing style, the Penguins continued to wreak havoc with the Flyers' simple system, using their speed and anticipation to create an effective transition game.
Edge: Penguins
DEFENSE
Unlike last season's five-game drubbing at the Pens' hands in the Eastern Conference finals, this year's Flyer defense corps is at the very least a significantly more healthy one.
Despite Derian Hatcher's long-term knee issues and Randy Jones' slow progression from hip surgery, Philly will have Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn -- both rendered out of commission last May -- at full power. In addition, Matt Carle and Andrew Alberts are backed up by Ryan Parent and junior call-up Luca Sbisa.
However, healthy has nothing to do with experience, and unlike last year's model, the 2008-09 Flyer backline corps is a relatively young, unimpressive and untested one.
The best move the Penguins made for the defense this season was waiting for Sergei Gonchar's surgically-repaired shoulder to heal completely. One of the club's glaring deficiencies in the early going was lack of power-play success and inability to move the puck through center ice. Gonchar's presence makes that all possible, opening things up for the forwards.
Although the club lost Ryan Whitney to improve offense, Kris Letang has done much to boost his profile as a two-way threat. Brooks Orpik is a hard hitter without much regard for the safety of his targets, and Hal Gill is always there to get his 6-foot-7 frame in the way.
Edge: Penguins
GOALTENDING
Both Martin Biron and Marc-Andre Fleury are solid but unspectacular backstops. Each have been the subject of barbs surrounding their respective abilities to either win or lose games for their hockey club.
Each can go a long way towards proving or disproving doubts in this series alone. Or not.
Edge: Push
SPECIAL TEAMS
Richards alone accounted for a league-best seven of the Flyers' NHL-leading 16 short-handed goals. Carter and Simon Gagne added four each. It may not be the best idea for the Penguins to draw penalties because it might backfire on them at a key time.
The power-play is another matter, having gone through wild swings of total harmony countered by complete disarray. Philly ended up sixth at 22.5 percent while Pittsburgh was 20th at 17.2 but climbed back from the dead late in the season.
Gonchar's return from injury gives the Penguins man-advantage a certified boost, and his quarterbacking skills are a step above his counterpart Timonen. However, the orange and black's penalty-killing threat can neutralize that edge.
Edge: Flyers
COACHING
Nothing much has changed with the Flyers under John Stevens, except the club stumbled into the postseason at 11-10-2 with three losses in their final five games as opposed to last year's hot stretch run.
The system of cycling, backchecking and physical play intended to knock the opposition's top forwards remains intact, along with strong forechecking while shorthanded.
Also, the frustrating cycles of passionate play balanced by periods of morose uninvolvement still plague the orange and black
Conversely, it's fair to say the Penguins enjoyed a total regime change after the abrasive Michel Therrien was let go in February.
Under their AHL farm team coach Dan Bylsma, the flightless birds finished the year 18-3-4. Whatever he's doing, he has the players on his side more than Therrien did even at the height of success last season.
Edge: Penguins
INTANGIBLES
Pittsburgh has the presumed psychological advantages of the fantastic finish, with the first two games in the comfort of Mellon Arena and home-ice in a deciding Game 7. Plus, they are sure to enjoy the wink-wink, nudge-nudge selective blindness of the referees as long as anointed superstar Sidney Crosby is on the ice.
The Penguins also have most of their roster returning from a Stanley Cup Finals berth, along with Cup winners in Fedotenko, Guerin and Kunitz and a finalist in Satan.
Edge: Penguins
Prediction: Penguins in six.
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