Game 4: Morning Skate News & Notes
Pittsburgh leads series, 2-1 The Penguins just concluded their morning skate as the team prepares to face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight The latest lineupnews, line combinations¬†and¬†news & notes from today’s¬†morning skate.
Off-Day Report: Philadelphia media believes Kunitz should have been suspended
Philadelphia_ The Chris Kunitz hit on Kimmo Timonen was about as clean as it’s going to get as Kunitz caught Timonen with his head down, coming around the net. Click here to view Video The Philadelphia media doesn’t see it that way and it shouldn’t come as any surprise. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquire writes the NHL rulings are a joke Carchidi writes, ‚ÄúNo matter how I say it, it’s going to sound like I’m being a homer. Trust me, I’m not. I’m for fairness. And Colin Campbell, the NHL’s discipline czar, is not being fair with the way he is handing out suspensions.‚Äù ‚ÄúOr, more to the point, NOT handing out suspensions. Campbell should have suspended Pittsburgh’s Chris
How will Dan Bylsma react to slumping veterans?
Dan Bylsma has pushed all the right buttons in his short time as interim coach with the Penguins, posting a 20-4-4 record in 28 games at the helm. What remains to be seen is how Bylsma reacts to slumping veterans. Bylsma has one on his hands in Petr Sykora who is in the midst of a slump dating back to February 6th, where he has only 6 points in his last 28 games. Sykora is not the type of player like a Bill Guerin who can impact a game, even if he’s not scoring. He doesn’t win battles in corners or provide a physical presence in front of the net. Is the notion true that Bylsma is becoming too player
NHL, refs must protect players who make clean hits
Philadelphia_ Chris Kunitz delivered a bone-crunching hit (click here to view) on Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen in the first period of Sunday’s game. The hit was shoulder to chest as Kunitz caught Timonen coming around the net with his head down. After Kunitz delivered the hit, Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent gave him two cross-checks to the back which should have drawn a minor penalty and as Kunitz skated down the ice, Scott Hartnell gave him a few whacks with his stick until the two players came to blows and were assessed 5 minute fighting majors. There was not a extra penalty assessed to Hartnell and Parent did not receive a penalty. Physical play is what makes the NHL a great game but
Flyers beat Penguins 6-3
Pittsburgh leads series 2-1 The Philadelphia Flyers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never trailed at any point of the game as the Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 Sunday afternoon at the Wachovia Center to cut the Penguins series lead in half. Looking to get off to a quick start and build off of the home crowd, Jeff Carter (2:59) and Mike Richards (5:14) scored their first goals of the series within 2:15 of each other in the first period as the Flyers put the Penguins on the ropes early.
Defensive breakdowns hamper Penguins in game 3 loss
Sidney Crosby said it best regarding the Penguins game 3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers “We battled hard all game and made a few mistakes”, Crosby said, in his post-game comments. After fighting back to tie the game at 2-2 in the second period, the pressure was back on the Flyers who were in a must-win situation Sunday afternoon. What did the Penguins in were defensive breakdowns on the Flyers 3rd and 4th goals. On Claude Giroux’s second period tally
Malkin off to hot start, despite lack of production from line-mates
NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin has five points through the Penguins first two playoff games, including a three point effort Friday night in game 2. Malkin is getting points at even strength (2pts) and on the power play (3pts). What’s impressive about his hot start is line-mates Ruslan Fedotenko and Petr Sykora have 0 points through the first two games. Crosby and Malkin have combined for 8 points in two games while Mike Richards and Jeff Carter have combined for only 1 point. Flyers look to build on Game 2 performance The Flyers suffered a devastating loss Friday night but there were some things to take out of that game, that the Flyers will look to build on. Despite giving up
Fleury steals game 2 from the Flyers
If the Flyers look back at a turning point in this series, they’re going to look at Marc Andre Fleury‚Äôs toe save on Jeff Carter with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third period. Up 2-1, Flyers forward Jeff Carter had the puck on his stick with a open net in front of him to put the Flyers up 3-1 and most likely head back to Philadelphia with the series tied 1-1. Fleury made a brilliant save on Carter, which resulted in the Penguins staying in the game and eventually led to Evgeni Malkin tying the game at 2-2 with 3:37 remaining in regulation. Fleury is playing at a higher level than he was last spring when the Penguins
Guerin scores OT Winner, Penguins take 2-0 series lead
Pittsburgh 3 РPhiladelphia 2 Often regarded as a playoff under-achiever in his last couple stops with San Jose and St. Louis, Bill Guerin is making his mark in Pittsburgh Guerin, the Penguins prized acquisition at the March 4th NHL trade deadline, scored the over-time winner at 18:29 of the first over-time as the Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 Friday night at Mellon Arena to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. The over time winner was Guerin’s second goal of the game and his first game winning playoff goal in his 17 year career.
Game 2: Pregame update; Timonen misses morning skate
Pittsburgh leads series 1-0 The Penguins just took the ice at for their morning skate as the team prepares to host the Philadelphia Flyers for game 2. The Flyers will take the ice at 11:30 a.m. — Pittsburgh comes into tonight’s game with all momentum but a Penguins loss changes the whole dynamic of the series as the Flyers would head home tied at 1-1 Many believe the Flyers are in a must-win situation but the Penguins know the importance of winning game 2. The way things look right now the Penguins will go with the same lineup. Read more for the latest Penguins lineup news and updates on the Flyers morning skate.