The tremendous sign hanging from the Wachovia Center spelled out this season in bold letters: "Vengeance Now."  I have to think that Philly's post-season run goes a long way to satisfying that statement, as the Flyers run to the Eastern Conference Finals was really remarkable.  At the end of the regular season, people were openly predicting that the Flyers didn't have enough in the tank to hold on, that the charging Capitals would overtake them.  As it turned out, the charging Capitals overtook Carolina, and Philly had a nice late-season charge to get them into the second season.

Philly is the classic overachieving team.  They relied on toughness and a killer power play all season long to generate their wins.  In the regular season, few teams were willing to match Philly's physical intensity on a night-in and night-out basis, and the Flyers were able to move right along, building momentum and belief in this team.  It really solidified in the first round of the playoffs.  Many people saw the Caps/Flyers series going deep and it did.  The Flyers were an up-and-down team in both the first and second round of the playoffs, winning one game in dominating fashion, losing another in very submissive fashion.  They stole some games where they were outplayed but Marty Biron saved them.  And the Flyers came into the ECF feeling very high, very ready and very confident.

It just so happened that Philly ran into a buzzsaw that they couldn't stop.  The Pens were too tough, too talented, too motivated, and from top to bottom, too good to stop.  The Flyers had no margin for error in this series, and then to have the injury bug strike at such a critical juncture is simply unfair. 

Still, the Flyers have a really nice nucleus of players - Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and others - that should be able to take this experience and use it.  The Pens did, after all.  They used their 2006-2007 playoff experience as a building block, learning how to improve, learning how playoff hockey has to be played, and figuring out what other parts were necessary.  There's little reason to think that the Flyers won't do the same thing.

Most Flyer fans are pleased with their team's season, and by all rights, should be.  No one expected this - I think that a run the ECF was beyond most fans' reasonable expectations.  I think the Flyers showed their fans, and the NHL, that they are on the right path.  Now it's going to be tough in the East for a long time - the Pens, Caps and Habs are all showing signs of going from very good teams to truly elite, dominant teams.  The Flyers are going to have to try and jump on that same bandwagon, too, otherwise they'll be left behind as the others progress.  But for now - and for looking at next year - I'd say Philly answered some big questions, has a few left to address, but on the whole will be a force in the NHL in the 2008-2009 season.

Now, for the Pens...

What a playoffs this team has had.  Their two superstars are trading back and forth between having great nights, and how blessed is this team to be able to rely on a one-two punch like that?  Fleury is showing why the Pens traded up to get the overall number one to draft him, and Jordan Staal is making their scouting department look great.  Their additions by free agency and trade have done wonderfully, and I think that any playoff ghosts that were hanging around Marian Hossa are gone.  He's been perhaps the Pens most consistent player this entire post-season.  He's scored, he's played great defense, he's been responsible everywhere, and he's been a spark-plug type player for this team.  I cannot imagine the Pens getting this far without his talents.  It's just a sign of how good this team is that Petr Sykora's production is well below the Mendoza line right now...and nobody really cares.  No one's worried.

Right now, I'm just enjoying their win, and looking forward to the Stanley Cup Finals!  

Winning the fourth game of a seven-game series when you lead the series 3-0 is not a foregone conclusion, but awfully close to one.  Sure, the Pens have yet to earn the final, most difficult victory in any series - the last one.  But if their 4-1 smothering of Philly in game 3 is any example, the Flyers are in deep, deep trouble.

What do we - as fans - expect from the Pens on most nights?  The Crosby-Malkin-Hossa-Sykora-Malone-Depuis show.  That is, high flying offense, tape-to-tape passes from left-right-left leading to a spectacularly easy virtual empty net goal for the lucky guy on the end of the second pass.  The Pens figuring that physical play isn't necessary, nor is strict adherence to a tight defensive checking system because it's possible to generally outscore the other team most nights.  So defense be damned.  Let the creativity flow, and put on a show for the home folks.  Sure, the Pens are capable of doing it.  Better than most teams, too.

So the Stanley Cup playoffs start, and no one really expects the Pens to actually play defense.  They expect the same high-wire act that we got from 1990 through 1992 - the two seasons that ended in 91 and 92 with the franchises two Cup wins.  We expect either Crosby or Malkin (or hell, maybe both) to split the D, nearly fall to the ice while zipping a truly amazing goal past a goalie who's only reaction is to hang his head.  But play defense?   Bah.  Boring.  Stifling.  Uncreative. 

Oops.

Michel Therrien deserves an unbelievable amount of credit right now - far more than he's getting.  He has this young group of offensive wizards actually playing great team defense.  Nothing is overlooked.  The system is the law, and the Pens players are enforcing it.  First, attempting to get a group of younger players to adhere so tightly to a tough defensive system is a challenge enough.  But asking superstars like Crosby and Malkin to do the same?  To take that same responsibility into their own end?  Well, some how, same way, he's gotten the team to buy into what he's selling.  Totally and completely, without reserveration - and the results are simply stunning to watch.  Philly cannot generate any offense whatsoever, and they've defeated two superior opponents to get to the ECF.  Yet they look like boys among men right now.  In two periods last night, the Flyers generated 8 shots.  That's right - eight.  They got 18 total, and in desperation flung everything at the net in the third.  Of course, forty-five foot shots from the right boards aren't exactly high-percentage shots...but they do count as shots, and in the Cup playoffs, any shot is a good shot.  Or so the adage goes, right?  The Flyers are getting beaten at their own game.  That might be the most impossible statement of all.

Last night, the Pens played classic road game hockey.  They weren't the aggressors; they remaining cautious and tight defensively, allowing Philly to come towards them but ensuring they slowed Philly down as best as possible.  They forced the Flyers to dump and puck, and then beat them in the corners to it.  They kept the Flyer forwards out of the slot, and funneled players and the puck to the boards and corners, where they can do little damage.  They sagged their defense back, but at all times remained on the lookout for the counter-attack chance.  And when they got them, they attacked using all of their formidable offensive skills.  Malone's third-period goal was a direct result of a boneheaded play by a Flyer rookie, who's flat, slow pass was easily picked off by Malkin, resulting in a ####-#### play going the other way.  The Pens counterattacking style last night was "out Deviling" the Devils - playing the neutral zone trap style to absolute perfection, and just like the Devils, making those sudden counterattacks count.  Philly couldn't absorb the change fast enough to get their offense untracked, and when they finally did...it was too little, too late.

I would expect the same Pens defense tomorrow night.  The only difference is that Philly has to salvage something from this series.  Getting swept, at home, by their most-hated in-state rivals is simply unacceptable.  Unheard of.  Disgusting.  Puke-worthy.  I think half the Flyers fans would drink themselves into oblivion and then puke, while the other half simply would puke.  So the Flyers cannot allow the Pens to win this game.  It would be a surly sight I think, so the Flyers are going to come out all guns blazing and then some.  But whether or not they can pierce Pittsburgh's suddenly excellent defense is another question entirely.  Because the Pens have personal reasons to complete the utter humiliation of the Flyers.  Malkin and Crosby both would simply love nothing more than to destroy the Flyers, sweep them, and do it in front of fans both players seem to despise.  So of course the Pens are going to keep to their system.  It's got them this far, and they see no reason why it can't take them further. 

The vaunted Commonwealth Finals have not materialized, and for many reasons.  Key Philly injuries are the most common blame.  And it's simply impossible to play "what if" in this case.  Everyone figured this was going to be a long series - at least six, likely seven.  And it's still possible.  But the odds are long.  And it could just be that the Pens are by far the better team.  With or without Timonen.  And that is simply because - as it stands, right now - the Pens young guns have listened to the coach, nodded and then executed.  And for Pens fans, you just can't ask for anything else.

10:03 left, Pens 3 Flyers 1

Man, it is so hard to listen to the game when you're so used to watching it!  Damn it I hate travel, and whereever I'm at in Indiana does not have VERSUS!  GRRR.

What has been interesting has been listening to Mike Lange's call.  Listening to him and Bourque, it sounds like the Pens are close to dominating all play top to bottom.  'Course, the only thing I can figure is to listen to it and since I'm listening to the home team, of course they're going to say things are going well.

8 minutes left in the 3rd.  Philly's playing better all of a sudden after giving up the 3rd goal to Malone.  Philly's defense and Biron have let them down again.  Injuries suck.  But then saying 'what if' is such a worthless thing to do...and yet so important.  What if Timonen and Coburn weren't downed with injuries?  What if Gagne hadn't had the bad concussion?  Who knows?

The Pens have been excellent in two key areas this series (not the obvious).  First, their positional defense.  The Flyers have not had good opportunities to generate scrums in front of the net - their favorite way to generate scoring.  They've been forced to the boards, forced to shoot from bad angles and long distances, and then hope for rebounds.  But Fleury's rebound control has been excellent.  And here we sit, with the Flyers down 2 goals late, and are facing an 0-3 series in the face.  Anyway, secondly, the Pens have been sensation in controlling the puck in the Flyers zone.  The Flyers are forced to work so hard just to get the puck, and then they have nothing left, so they have to dump and change lines.  The Flyers cannot get much sustained offensive pressure going because they're always chasing the Pens.  It's impossible to get a lot going when you're too tired to do much except get the puck into the neutral zone and then change your lines, only to have it happen to you again.

This is so different from past Pgh/Phl series.  I remember the 2000 series - the Flyers were relentless with the puck, controlling the play in the corners, and making the Pens do the same thing - chase and chase, control, clear and change lines...only to do it all over again.  So the Flyers are getting a taste of their own medicine (historically speaking of course). 

Under 6 left.  Making some big assumptions here...but if IF the Pens hold on here, having both conference finals sitting at 3-0 series leads?  Good grief.

Flyers hit the post.  Ouch.  Gotta hate that.

Anyway, both Detroit and Pittsburgh with 3-0 series leads?  I know how good Detroit is.  Pittsburgh seems to have doubters everywhere.  And I know, that if both teams win their series, that Detroit will be heavy, heavy favorites.  And with good reason - outside of Nashville, the Wings have been simply unstoppable, overwhelming forces.  They control the puck as well as the Pens, and employ a similar style.  Here's where Detroit will get the nod - defense.  Their defense (especially offensive defensemen) will get the nod.

Pens are back on their heels as the Flyers press the issue.  The Flyers are not done yet.  They refuse to quit - a quality that is most impressive.

The Pens announcers are saying that the Flyers ability to create havoc in front of the net has been severely limited this evening.  Not good.

Crosby put on his butt.  Flyers fans rejoice.  I heard the cheers on the radio side.  :)

Under 4 - Pens in defense-first mode.  Flyers get a good chance to press hard.  I hate the defensive shell that all teams seem to go into when protecting leads late.  At least its not like the "prevent" defense in the NFL...which in my opinion only prevents wins.  The defensive shell allows for good offensive teams to pounce on mistakes, and turn those mistakes into odd-man rushes.

Under 3 - Fleury still playing extremely well.  Big saves tonight.  Same for Biron - at least according to Lange.  He was making his usual comments: "He should get six to ten for that one!" 

Pens announcers asking when Biron gets pulled.  So my earlier thoughts (unpublished) that the Pens would lose tonight look like they are going to be wrong.  Again.  I hate actually saying the Pens will win.  I figure that if I figure they'll lose, I won't feel so bad if they do.  But hell, the Pens have a 2-0 lead, and how often is it that you see conference finals, at 2-0, go to 3-0?  I wonder...

Biron's pulled on the ice.  Hossa up the ice.  Philly takes it, presses the advantage.  Minute left.

MARIAN HOSSA SHOOTS AND SCORES AN EMPTY NETTER.  Mike Lange says "The Kitchen is Closed."  What the hell does that mean?  I like the older version better: " And Elvis...has left.  The.  Building."  Bourque - "bingo ####o bongo?"  WTF?

The Pens are a streaking team right now.  No matter what gets dredged up in the next two days, only 2 teams in all of NHL history have come back from 3-0 deficits to win the series.  And in those cases, you've got to figure the losing team had no right winning the first three.  So I would expect the Pens to close out the Flyers in short order.  There's no coming back now.  The Pens are playing hockey at an extremely high level.  And that.  Is.  That.  Pens 4-1.

Good night all.  GO PENS!

Some tidbits.

From 1974 through 1988, the Pens did not win a single game in Philadelphia's Spectrum.  The Flyers amassed a home record of 40-0-3 in those years, and it wasn't until Mario Lemiuex came along that the Pens finally bested the Flyers in Philly.

Current GM Ray Shero is the son of ex-Flyers coach Fred Shero.  Fred Shero is the only coach to win the Cup with the Flyers.  Son Ray Shero is looking for his first title as a GM. 

The Flyers have had 7 different years in which they didn't lose to the Pens; the Pens had two such seasons.  The Flyers went a combined 29-0-5 in those 7 years; the Pens went 11-0-2-2 in their two years.

The Pens and Flyers have faced three times in the playoffs, all three won by Philly.  In 2000, the longest NHL playoff game took place in Pittsburgh, won in the 92nd minute of OT by Keith Primeau who beat Ron Tugnett. 

The Pittsburgh/Philadelphia rivalry is among the best in the NHL.  These two teams - quite frankly - hate one another.  There's no other word for it than hate.  The two meeting in the Conference Finals for the first time adds a new edge to this long-standing rivalry.  The bad blood is years old, and this year's regular season was just more of the same.  After sweeping the series last year, the Flyers came out and won four in a row to start the regular season.  Then the Pens won three in a row, including a 7-1 demolition of the Flyers in March.  The season finale for both teams had the Flyers winning a 1-0 game.  In that game, the Pens rested Crosby, went 0-8 on the power play and lost.  Afterwards, many people - including those in Philly - accused the Pens of tanking the game so that they would take on Ottawa rather than Philly in the opening round of the playoffs.  It generated some talk, but further emphasized how much these two teams simply dislike one another.  Now that the Pens and Flyers are facing off in the Eastern Conference Finals, it's hard to imagine how ugly things will get.  Nothing will be forgotten.  There's no need for bulletin board material.  There's no need to battle in the press.  Pittsburgh and Philadelphia sports fans simply realize the truth - this will be a long, dirty, nasty, ugly, and bitter interstate hockey series.  One team has to win, and one has to lose.  Come Friday night, we'll begin seeing who is the better team.

February 10, 2008. Evgeni Malkin: "I don't like that team."

That team, and the fans Malkin especially dislikes, renew a season-long campaign of dislike for the right to play for Lord Stanley's Cup. Funny how perhaps fate just made this correct. The Pens won't forget the Flyers accusation of tanking in the last regular season game so the Pens could face the Senators and avoid the Flyers in the opening round. The Flyers - and their fans - certainly won't forget the fact that Malkin has publicly uttered his feelings about them. While I tend to avoid talking about sports games using military terms, I think that for once calling this series a "war" might really be truthful. I give it about twenty seconds in game one of this series before the first mighty hit is delivered.

The Flyers earned the six spot with their 82nd game win over Pittsburgh. Their reward was to play the hottest team in hockey - the Washington Capitals. They battled the Caps to a seventh game, winning in OT in Washington. From that series win, they took it to the Montreal Canadiens, winning in five and making Montreal look not so good during the series.

The Pens swept Ottawa easily - maybe too easily. And then game one of the second round, the Pens found themselves down 3-0 to the Rangers, battled back, won the lead and lost it, then won the game late. Many wonder if that first game didn't set the tone for the entire series, that New York never fully recovered from that game. In any event, with Hossa's OT goal yesterday, the Battle of Pennsylvania was set.

Two cities are now frothing. In hockey, the team I dislike the most is the Flyers. I like nothing more than watching the Pens beat the Flyers. I get the feeling that the reverse is true a lot of the time. Maybe Philly fans hate New York or New Jersey a little more, but right now their entire collective disdain is centered on a city three hundred miles to the west. A division rival. A common, well-known foe. Pittsburgh fans are looking at Philly with hatred. Might as well get used to it.

If you're a fan of either team, and you engage in the ESPN conversations or things like that, the acidic comments have only just begun. The fans of both teams really dislike the other's fans. The teams don't like each other - probably from the ownership down, although I'm sure the owners are at least cordial. I think the players don't even like each other. So there you have it - the playoff intensity and hatred that usually takes a game or two to develop is there from the start. The opening face off will be nasty, and it won't stop until one of these two teams emerges from this conference final.

Now I hear that people are referring to Philly as Filth-adelphia. There was a song from 'DVE not that long ago: Flyer Scum. Might as well drag them all out of the closet. Philly fans I'm sure have their personal favorites of hating all things Pittsburgh - I'm sure that "Cindy" Crosby will be among the most common phrases used by Philly fans all week and as the series goes on.

So Cindy and the Pens battle the Filth-adelphia Flyers. And why not? Let's get it on!

So here we go - the Flyers took a 2-1 series lead last night, and the Rangers hope to defend home ice tonight at the Garden.

The Flyers/Canadiens series is quickly evolving into one of those series in which the players generate true, awesome hatred for one another.  This is going to be a decidedly mean series from this point out, and that's why playoff hockey is so engaging.  The edge that each team will bring to the ice will almost be visible.  Every check will get finished - not just because its the best way to play the game in the playoffs, but also because there's personal satisfaction from crunching a guy you have come to loathe into the boards just so you can maybe hear him whimper.  And if you screw up and whimper - look out.  Every player will take a run, just to see if they can get him to whimper again.  Because after a while, only the most disciplined players can withstand that kind of beating, get up and keep on playing at the same level.  It's like in football, when a big smash-mouth football team lines up its offense in the fourth quarter.  You know the running back is going to get the ball, and he's going to plunge into the defense.  There's no subtlety - it's just pure strength on strength, desire on desire and heart on heart.  That's what the Philly/Canadiens series is going toward - pure heart on heart.  The finesse and skill of players like Kovi and Richards won't matter as much as whether or not those two are willing to stick their nose into places it shouldn't be, and then whether they're willing to take the punch on the button just to get the job done.  Now that's playoff hockey at its finest. 

The Flyers have got to be feeling pretty good right now.  Sure, the bumps and bruises still hurt, and the physical energy drain has got to be coming on strong right now, but last night they escaped with a win, and maybe - just maybe - got into Price's head.  On XM radio this morning, there was speculation as to whether the crowd or the team got into Price's head.  Either way, the rookie looked awfully unsteady and unsure of himself - and like chum in the water, the Flyers attacked.  So tomorrow night, the Habs had better be prepared to defend in front of Price.  Because the Flyers are going to run him - all night, all the time.

Of course, if the Habs win tomorrow night, it'll all be a moot point, won't it?  Back to the Bell Centre, back to the friendly confines of home ice.  And it'll be a different series. 

I've got to wonder, though, if the Canadiens can afford to lose tomorrow night  Montreal has a very nice team from top to bottom - a lot of skill, depth, quickness and enough physicality to stand toe to toe to the Flyers.  But Montreal is rather young, especially in goal, and facing a long, tough uphill climb to win when down 1-3 in the series may take more than they have.  I think this series turns tomorrow.  If the Habs win, and tie the series, I'd put them in the driver's seat.  Home ice is back to them, and then pivotal game 5 is on home ice.  But if the Flyers win, the Habs are done.  That's how I see it - the Flyers won't let up.  If anything, the boot they put on the Habs throat will get bigger and nastier.  The hits will turn up, the intensity.  The Flyers will attempt to beat the Habs into submission, and then worry about scoring goals.  Tomorrow night is the key - to me, who wins game 4 wins the series.  Since I picked Philly to win the series, I'll go with a Philly win tomorrow night, and a nearly insurmountable lead in the series.

Just up the road, the Pens roll into town to take on a surly Rangers team.  The Blue Shirts know that they let two winnable games get away from them.  Their best chance in game one escaped them, and I'm not sure they even know how it happened.  In their minds, it just did - it was a fluke.  In their minds, the Pens got lucky breaks, and that was that.  Game two was similar - a game that heavily favored the Rangers in terms of style, and yet they couldn't pull it out.  Yet despite losing the Rangers felt they had the better of the play.  They've got to be scratching their heads a little, unable to figure out exactly how the Pens managed to win both at the Igloo. 

More than that, I think the Rangers believe that the Pens were lucky.  And luck doesn't hold, nor can it be relied upon.  So the Rangers expect to come out tonight and erase any bad feelings held over from the first two games.  They are drawing upon last year's playoff experience, where they lost two in a row to start the series in Buffalo, but came roaring back in the Garden to even the series.  They are expecting the same thing to occur, and it starts tonight.  The Rangers will put out all the stops tonight - tight-checking with plenty of hard hits, defend their ice with tenacity and anger and throw the works at Fleury.  They were a little surprised I think to find the Pens defense keeping them to the edge of the ice and denying them the slot.  I think they'll work exceptionally hard to get into that slot, where their dangerous snipers can go to work. 

For the Pens, they have to weather the expected intensity that will surely come in the first ten minutes of this game.  The Rangers will be flying - hitting everything on the ice, pressing the attack at every opportunity, attacking the puck with abandon, safe in the knowledge that Henrik will keep the Pens off the board.  So the Pens have to weather that, to absorb the best that the Rangers can give them.  And then they'll have to counter-punch the Rangers. 

The best weapon the Pens can have is an early goal.  It will deflate the home crowd a little, and perhaps get the Rangers thinking.  I think this will really be a back and forth game, with momentum shifts occurring all night.  But an early goal for the Pens will put their stamp onto this game, and deny New York some of the ability to dictate play.  That's what the Pens have to do - they cannot allow the Rangers to dictate play to them; they have to keep it even, or better yet, dictate play to the Rangers.  The game the Rangers probably cannot win is a shoot-out style game, with open ice and end-to-end rushes all night long.  It's not to say that the Rangers can't beat the Pens at their own game, but the nature of the players is that the Pens have an advantage in that kind of game.  Their speed, power and creativity will be on display in an open game.  That's something the Rangers can't allow, and therefore the Pens have to try and generate. 

It's interesting that going into this series many people thought the Rangers were the better team.  The Pens had slight advantages in offense and defense, especially in scoring defense, but that was nullified by the Rangers advantage in goal.  So far the Pens advantages have been marked while the Rangers advantage has been at least countered by Fleury's strong play.  The Rangers defense has been good, and Lundqvist has been as good as advertised.  But it hasn't been enough, because from top to bottom the Pens are playing tremendous hockey. 

Tonight, I pretty much think that it will be one of those super-intense 2-1 games with a meaningless empty-netter to seal the win for one team.  The hitting will be off the charts, the defense tight and the offensive players on both teams frustrated all night long because of a dearth of chances.  Because of that, I think that the Rangers will probably win tonight.  They are in a must-win situation - they simply cannot allow the Pens to go up 3-0 in the series, not with two potential games remaining at the Igloo.  They have to take advantage of their ice and get back into this series.  The ugly goal will be a focus tonight - none of that tape-to-tape cross-ice passing to generate a one-timer into an empty night - that won't happen.  I just don't see that being allowed - on either end.  No, it'll be a grinder - a Sean Avery or Tyler Kennedy - that gets in the crease, battles and battles and puts a stick on a shot that deflects past the goalie.  Maybe the goal is set up by the likes of Jagr or Gomez or Crosby, but they probably won't see the goal sheet tonight.  Odd that I'm doubting the big guns on either team gets the goals, but the way I see it the big guns are going to be draped with bodies all night, so the role players have to do their job.  The energy lines will be huge tonight.  The defense will be huge.  Maybe I'll be wrong - hell, I'll probably be wrong - but tonight is setting up to be a picture of pure playoff hockey.  3-1 Rangers, with an empty net to seal the win.  I hope I'm wrong.  I do.  But the Rangers are going to win games this series, and tonight I think they get off the schneid. 

I am surprised by the lack of furious blog entries from passionate Flyers fans all ranting and raving about the two questionable calls in last night's loss to Montreal.  I expected a ton of entries.  I guess it's just the state of the NHL that not as many people put their thoughts down.

Anyway, the two calls - the high-stick goal and late kneeing penalty on Richards - were angrily debated this morning on HTM on XM 204.  They announcers thought both calls were fair, although they did acknolwedge that Kovalev's goal looked like a high-stick.  But the calls were what they were, and that's the problem with screaming over calls.  The players still have to play.  The goal-scorers still have to find the net, the goalies defend it.  The refs made two calls, and both stood up, and yet everyone is saying that those two calls alone defined this game.  Two giant moments - yes, that much is definitely true.  But if luck - or if you prefer, karma - doesn't have Carter's stick break on the huge face-off in the Flyer's zone at the end of the game...

Karma is a funny thing.  It grants, and then penalizes.  The Flyers may have earned some karma last night - so maybe that's the way to solace yourselves as you prepare for game 2.  Think of it this way - the close calls that went your way in game 7 of the opening round drained your karma reserves...so perhaps last night will replenish it.  And maybe now Montreal has lost some of their karma. 

Who knows?  All I know is that in about 5 hours the Arena will be rocking, and game 1 starts.  Now that's good karma!

At the time of this writing, the Sharks have a 2nd period 3-2 lead on the Flames.  So I can't write about the West because I'm about ready to fall asleep.  Couple beers while watching Flyers/Caps - and the intensity of that game (and hell, I'm not a fan of either team!!!) and I'm done in.

But I can't stop from writing some quick notes.

Canadiens/Flyers

1.  Flyers - This team is hard to figure.  Two weeks left in the regular season, they looked dead in the water.  They surge right at the end, locking up a spot, but drawing Washington - a tough draw because of Ovechkin and the Caps youth.  Then they go and dominate game one, but lose.  Now after a draining OT game 7, they get the Habs.  But here's the thing - the Habs were pushed around a little by Boston.  Philly plays that same nasty, mean style of hockey...and have better scoring.  Richards is imposing his will on other teams - Briere I thought was nearly invisible tonight until the end of the game though.  Anyway - no more tangents - the Flyers physical game, and skilled forwards represent a big time challenge to the Canadiens.  The Habs must get their physical nature cranked up to play toe-to-toe with the Flyers.

2.  Flyers - I'm also beginning to wonder if this team has a deep run in them.  You'd think that the way this series went that they were ripe for the picking.  But they don't quit - they just keep on coming on.  Lose the first game, win the second.  Get a 3-1 series lead, then lose two in a row.  Biron is untested in net, and has an atrocious record on the 2nd night of back to back games, and tonight he was great.  Simply great.

3.  Habs - a regular season series sweep of this team won't have any impact them - after all, they swept Boston, too.  So I doubt their regular season success will play any role in their planning or discussions. 

4.  Habs - where's that power play?  After being the best in the regular season, Boston shut them down.  The Habs PK was solid, but they have to get more production from the PP if they want to go to the conference finals. 

5.  Both teams - now that untested goalies Price and Biron have withstood the test of winning a playoff series, they get to face a new level of tension.  The Flyers are a crash-the-net team - every chance they get they'll throw bodies in front of Price.  Biron acquitted himself well against the likes of Ovechkin, and the Flyers defense did a great job.  Price had a bad game, but rebounded for a game 7 shutout win. 

Who gets the edge?  I am beginning to wonder - as I said - if Philly doesn't have some fate in their tank.  Home ice doesn't matter much to Philly - they didn't have it in beating (I can't call it an upset) the Caps.  The pressure in Montreal will build - and although the Habs withstood it in the first series, it gets far tougher now.  I think Montreal has a better line up top to bottom, but I'm now wondering if Boston exposed enough flaws for Philly to exploit.  So, going against the grain and perhaps my better judgment: Philly in seven.

I was a Caps fan tonight.  Not because I was actively rooting against Philly (although to be fair I hate the Flyers) but because I wanted to see the Caps rather than the Rangers.  The upcoming Pens/Rangers series is going to be a phenomenal one, I can almost guarantee that.  The regular season was a wash, although the Rangers won all their games in the Garden - but like with the Habs/Flyers, the Pens didn't beat Ottawa in the regular season, either.  Different team, different time, different chemistry - but the fact is that the regular season means nothing now.  Or at least it doesn't mean much.

1.  Rangers - Jaromir Jagr is going to be stoked for this series.  He's never played his old team in the playoffs.  He's obviously enjoying the game right now, and his physical skills are still in the upper echelon of talent in the NHL.  He's going to be a force, and will do his utmost to put the team on his shoulders and help carry them past the Pens.

2.  Rangers - Lundqvist is dominant at home, and was against the Atlantic division in general.  He's going to have to be on top of his game, because the Pens throw a hell of a lot more offense at you than the Devils did.  So while he had an excellent opening round, the level of difficulty in this series is far, far higher.  The Devils play a conservative game, hoping that defense and goaltending keep them in games.  The Pens don't. 

3.  Pens - Sid, Geno & Marc-Andre.  The boys are going to have to be at the top of their game in this series.  New York is not Ottawa - the Pens are not facing a dysfunctional team collapsing from within this time.  They are facing a tough, menacing foe, so the kids are going to have to be more than alright.  The kids are going to have to prove that their top-notch skills are equally as visible and dangerous in the playoffs.  Star power drives this team - and the lack of star power will doom it.

4.  Pens - defense.  Few people consider the Pens blue line to be top-notch.  And maybe its not - but then again the Rangers defense is in that same boat.  The Pens play an active defense, using positions and stick skills to defend.  They don't have a well-known big hitter, nor do they have a well-known shut-down tandem.  Their defense is really a nice blend of different talents and personas, and all will put to the test in this series. 

Both teams will probably play the first period of game one close to the vest - punch/counter-punch kind of period.  The feeling out period won't last beyond the first twenty, though - they know each other too well.  They know personnel, strengths, weaknesses, players to exploit and more.  They know tendencies and leanings.  So there won't be much of that "getting to you know" play - as I said, twenty minutes ought to do it.  The Pens will have to weather a first-period storm and cloud of uncertainty.  After so many days off and so much rest, how they respond to the speed and pressure o####ame will be critical.  The Rangers have had some rest, too, and figure to be equally rusty in that first period. 

This is the one opponent that as a Pens fan scared me.  The Rangers are firing on all cylinders.  They have the talent necessary to beat the Pens, and Lundqvist is capable of stealing games and pitching shut-outs, even against top offensive players that the Pens have.  They are a tight bunch, playing solid, confident hockey, and they know that they can beat the Pens.  It's my opinion that the Rangers and Pens are playing the best hockey in the East right now, and so this series figures to be a long, difficult one.  I think that the Pens have more weapons, and Marc-Andre Fleury seems to have put his past playoff failures behind him.  Jagr is still great, but old, as is many more of the Rangers top players.  The youth and recovery times of the younger players will be a factor in what ought to be a long series.  So I think it breaks down like this: the Pens win 2 at home, one at MSG, and the Rangers win 2 at home, and one in Pittsburgh...leading to a Pens home ice game 7.  The Arena will be loud and energetic, and that home ice is the one intangible that the Pens have over the Rangers.  So: Pens.  In seven.

I hope.

Everything you could want - the drama, the hits, the energy and intensity.  The Flyers and Caps put on a show of hockey skill that was unparalleled so far this year.  An amazing game, and congratulations to the Flyers for a big win.  They get to move on, and the Caps earned a valuable lesson - no matter how badly it hurts right now.  And I'm sure that it does hurt, a great deal, right now.  But the Caps learned how to play in the playoffs, and they acquitted themselves exceptionally well.  One team has to win, and one has to lose.  That's the nature of sports - clear winners and losers. 

I can't take anything away from the Flyers.  They weathered an iffy third period and took advantage of the power play in overtime to seal the win.  They never quit, they never hung their head, and they kept playing hard, and they earned their win.  It's hard to imagine a team playing any harder.

Congrats to the Caps for a fine season, and a fine series.  And congrats to the Flyers for moving on.  Your reward: the Canadiens.