Flyers believe health, experience will lead to different result

Despite heading into the playoffs with little momentum after a 4-5-1 finish and missing a golden opportunity to have home-ice in the first round, the Flyers believe this years playoff rematch with the Penguins will have a different result because of health. In the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyers top defensemen Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn saw limited action during the series. Timonen did not appear in a game until the series finale and Coburn was lost for the series in Game 2 after taking a puck to the face that resulted in 50+ stitches. Beatwriters with the Flyers tell me, the organization truly believes it would have been a much different series if Coburn and Timonen were in the

Morning Practice Notes, Penguins prepare for Flyers

The Penguins went through their first practice of the playoff season this morning at 10:30 a.m. as the team prepares to take on the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night in the first round of the playoffs. The teams primary goal was to claim the 4th seed but going into the weekend with Philadelphia having two games in hand, and Carolina owning a tiebreaker, the players were not very optimistic and were expecting to start the playoffs on the road. All of that changed yesterday when the Rangers rallied to upend the Flyers 4-3. Practice Notes All 23 skaters were accounted for this morning. The Penguins are a very confident team right now but they are not taking anything for granted and the

Game 1 Wednesday, Game 2 Friday, Game 3 Sunday

NBC to televise Game 3 & Game 6 (if necessary) Updated: NBC to televise Sunday’s game but it will be Game 3 not Game 2 which I previously reported. Games 1, 2, and 4 will be on FSN. NBC has also picked up game 6 (if necessary) which will also be televised at 3:00 p.m. Versus will pick up game 1 but locally the game will be shown on FSN. Game 1 – 4/15/09 Wednesday at Mellon Arena Game 2. – 4/17/09 Friday at Mellon Arena Game 3 – 4/19/09 Sunday at Wachovia center (3:00 p.m.) Game 4 – 4/21/09 Tuesday at Wachovia Center If Necessary Game 5 – 4/23/09 Thursday at Mellon Arena Game 6 – 4/25/09 Saturday at

Flyers fall to Rangers; Penguins gain home-ice advantage

The Philadelphia Flyers will be traveling to Pittsburgh for the first round of the playoffs. Down 3-2 in the third period, Sean Avery and Blair Betts scored third-period goals to rally the New York Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Sunday. The loss was a missed opportunity for the Flyers as the Penguins gain home-ice for a rematch from last season’s conference finals. Pittsburgh is

Malkin wins 1st NHL scoring title; Penguins win regular season finale

Pittsburgh 3 РMontreal 1 Saturday night was a night of celebration for the Penguins as the team won their season finale 3-1 against the Montreal Canadiens and remain in the hunt for the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Max Talbot and Kris Letang added shorthanded goals and Marc Andre Fleury made 29 saves to record his 35th win of the season. Evgeni Malkin (35) also scored for the Penguins who outshot the Canadiens 41-30. With a Carolina loss Saturday afternoon, the Penguins (99 pts) will finish no worst than 5th in the Eastern Conference and will face their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers (99 pts)  in the first round. A Flyers regulation loss to the Rangers Sunday afternoon

Rangers gain ground, Penguins drop to 7th

If the playoffs started today the Penguins would be the #7 seed in the Eastern Conference, giving them the worst possible matchup against the #2 New Jersey Devils who I regard as the top team in the East. The Rangers gained ground tonight as Nikolai Zherdev had a goal and an assist to lift the New York Rangers (39-27-8) to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. The win moved the Rangers up to the #6 spot in the Eastern Conference, dropping the Penguins to the #7 spot due to the Rangers have an advantage in the season series between the division rivals. Playoff Races 4. Philadelphia Flyers (40-22-10, 90 pts) Games Remaining: 10 5. Carolina Hurricanes (40-28-7, 87 pts)

Monday’s Wrapup; Canes, Flyers get key wins

Philadelphia 4 – New Jersey 2 The Philadelphia Flyers (90 pts) took more strides to locking up the #4 spot in the Eastern Conference Monday night, defeating the New Jersey Devils (97 pts) 4-2 in Philadelphia. Jeff Carter scored his 40th goal of the season and Simone Gagne and added his 30th goal of the season to power the Flyers to a critical divisional win. The Flyers winners of three straight got another strong performance from Marty Biron who made 32 saves to record his 25th win of the season. Biron is 4-1 on the season on the second game of back-to-back games. Carolina 3 – Florida 2 OT Ray Whitney scored 1:37 into overtime to lead the surging Carolina

In battle for #4 spot in the East, Flyers defeat Penguins 3-1

In a battle for the #4 spot in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers (39-22-10) took great strides to locking up the #4 seed in the East, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins (39-27-8) 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Mellon Arena. It was a game of special teams as Simon Gagne and Scott Hartnell each scored a power play goal for the Fylers who now move two points ahead of the Penguins in standings. Pittsburgh who has a league high 11 comebacks when trailing after the second period, got on the score sheet at 10:02 of the third period when Kris Letang (8) (Power play) beat goaltender Marty Biron low blocker side to cut the Flyers lead to one. Sidney Crosby (95 pts)

Playoff races heating up

(4) Philadelphia (37-22-10, 84 pts) Games remaining: 13 (6 Home, 7 Away) Latest Buzz: Flyers have three games in hand on the #5 Pittsburgh Penguins (38-26-8, 84 pts). The Flyers are 1-4 against the Penguins this season. The two rivals meet on Sunday. (5) Pittsburgh (38-26-8, 84 pts) Games remaining: 10 (6 Home, 4 Away) Latest Buzz: Pittsburgh in the middle of a 8 game homestand are 9-0-2 in their last 11 games. A team that no one wants to play down the stretch. Pittsburgh returns to action on Friday against LA. (6) NY Rangers (37-26-8, 82 pts) Games remaining: 11 (6 Home, 5 Away) Latest Buzz: 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, Rangers have the look of a playoff