NHL Preview from The Sports Network
Sunday, April 22nd
(All times Eastern)
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins (2-3) at (5) Philadelphia Flyers (3-2), 12 p.m.
(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to move a step closer to
pulling off a historic comeback this afternoon, as they visit the Philadelphia
Flyers for Game 6 at Wells Fargo Center.
The fourth-seeded Penguins dug themselves a 3-0 hole in the best-of-seven
series, but have won the last two games to claw their way back into this
Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup. Pittsburgh destroyed the Flyers, 10-3,
in Philadelphia on Wednesday and then recorded a 3-2 decision in Friday's home
Game 5.
Backed by Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins lived to fight another day in Game 5.
Fleury was stellar in the third period, especially during the Flyers' lone
power play of the frame, as he stopped 14 shots in the final 20 minutes and
finished the game with 24 saves.
Thanks in part to Fleury's stalwart performance, the Penguins now trail this
best-of-seven series, 3-2, and they are hoping to become just the fourth team
in NHL history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Of course, the last
team to pull off the 3-0 comeback was the Philadelphia Flyers, who did it
against Boston in the 2010 conference semifinals. However, Philadelphia has
never even blown a 2-0 series lead in its history, posting a 17-0 record all-
time when winning the first two games.
If Pittsburgh can stave off elimination again today, the clubs will meet
Tuesday night in Pittsburgh for a decisive seventh game.
Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy each posted a goal and an assist on Friday while
Steve Sullivan also lit the lamp for the Penguins, who hope to join the 1942
Maple Leafs, 1975 Islanders and 2010 Flyers as the only teams to win a best-of-
seven series after dropping the first three games.
"It's just one game at a time and we've been saying that for a while," said
Staal. "We'll go into Philly and be confident that we can win and go from
there."
Matt Carle and Scott Hartnell each scored their first goal of the playoffs for
the Flyers, who received 20 saves from Ilya Bryzgalov.
"We definitely have to look at what we're doing in all areas of the game," said
Hartnell. "Our forechecking and neutral zone play, it seems like they're
getting too many rushes off them."
The Flyers have scored their past five goals on the power play and now have 11
in the series, which ties their team record for a playoff series set against
the Penguins in 1989, a series that went seven games. Philadelphia hasn't
scored an even-strength goal since Game 3.
Philadelphia was without defenseman Nicklas Grossmann, who was out with an
upper-body injury which is believed to be a concussion that he suffered in Game
4. Grossmann is questionable for this afternoon's contest.
For Pittsburgh, defenseman Paul Martin sat out a second straight game with an
undisclosed injury and he is not expected to play today.
This series marks the sixth all-time playoff meeting between the Flyers and
Penguins. Philadelphia won the first three matchups, but Pittsburgh has taken
the last two postseason encounters. The last series was in the opening round
of the 2009 playoffs and Pittsburgh claimed that set in six games en route
to their most recent Stanley Cup title.
04/22 10:33:53 ET

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