Penguins at Flyers - Game 4 - 04-18-12

-What do the Penguins do tonight? How do you face the storm of a 0-3 series deficit?

-They need to worry about Game 4. First. Worry about the details. Worry about preventing all these stretches passes the Flyers are connecting on. Worry about positioning in the defensive zone. Worry about the space being affording the Flyers' deep group of forwards. Fix those details first and they have a chance.

-Marc-Andre Fleury needs to play better. We've defended his status as an elite goaltender. He still is in our book.  He's just having a horrendous series while playing behind a horrendous defense. It's a bad combination. He needs to settle his game and quit allowing bad goals and steal the tough goals as he did in Game 1. That will give his team a chance.

-Evgeni Malkin needs to find a way to shake off the defensive efforts of Sean Couturier, the Flyers' splendid rookie center. Malkin won the Conn Smythe in 2009 while facing the Red Wings dynamic duo of defensive centers in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. With all due respect, he should be capable of doing the same to Sean Couturier.

-Kris Letang. Needs to regain composure. He has been asked to do a lot in all situations this series and it appears to have worn on him physically and mentally. Defensemen with Norris Trophy-caliber skills maintain composure. Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara and Scott Niedermayer have maintained composure for their teams while logging monster minutes. Letang needs to do the same.

-The rookies need to be naive. Simon Despres and Eric Tangradi need to just ignore the the fact their in this team's biggest game of the season and just play their games within this team's system. If they do that, they won't make mistakes and they will help this team win.

-Sidney Crosby needs to keep this team composed. If Brayden Schenn gives an extra whack to the shins, ignore it. If Scott Harntell gives a little shove after the whistle, skate away. Crosby needs to  hold his teammates accountable in this respect.

-Dan Bylsma and the coaching staff need to mix things up with respects to the lines. Give Crosby and Malkin a few shifts together. Stick Crosby on Jordan Staals' line. Make the Flyers have to adjust with thier lines.

-Settle the special teams. The Penguins have scored three goals on special teams, all on the power play. The Flyers have scores nine special teams goals, six on the power play and three on the penalty kills. If you remove special teams goals, the Flyers are only outscoring the Penguins, 11-9 this series. Special teams have been a killer.

-Can the Penguins win this series. It's very, very, very unlikely. In fact, we'll go out on a huge limb and say they won't do it. Can they win Game 5? It's very, very, very possible.

-According to reports from Philadelphia, the lines and defensive pairings in warm ups for the Penguins are:

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Tyler Kennedy
Steve Sullivan - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Eric Tangradi - Jordan Staal - Matt Cooke
Dustin Jeffrey - The great Joe Vitale - Richard Park

Kris Letang - Brooks Orpik
Zbynek Michalek - Matt Niskanen
Ben Lovejoy - Simon Despres

-The Flyers' lines and pairings are:

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Brayden Schenn - Daniel Briere - Wayne Simmonds
Maxime Talbot - Sean Couturier - Eric Wellwood
Zac Rinaldo - Matt Read - Jakub Voracek

Kimmo Timonen - Matt Carle
Nicklas Grossmann - Braydon Coburn
Andreas Lilja - Pavel Kubina

-UPDATE: The Penguins will dress seven defensemen and scratch Jeffrey and Lovejoy. Deryk Engelland and Brian Strait play.

-The Penguins starters are Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Steve Sullivan, Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik and Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Their scratches are Craig Adams, Arron Asham, Dustin Jeffrey, Ben Lovejoy, Paul Martin and James Neal.

-The Flyers scratches are Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jaromir Jagr, Matt Carle, Kimmo Timonen and Ilya Bryzgalov.

-Their scratches are Tyler Brown, Marc-Andre BourdoThe dueln, Matt Ford, Erik Gustafsson, Ben Holmstrom, Oliver Lauridsen, Michael Leighton, Tye McGinn, Jody Shelley, and Harry Zolnierczyk.

-The dual Kate Smith/Lauren Hart rendition of "God Bless America" is played:

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FIRST PERIOD

19:53: Right off the opening faceoff, Hartnell gets a chance from the left circle and lifts a wrister over the cage.

19:43: What a start. The Penguins take a penalty not even 20 seconds in. Sullivan hooks Giroux in the neutral zone. Giroux sells it. Staal, Cooke, Michalek and Orpik take the ice.

19:26: Timonen booms a one-timer from the left point. Fleury kicks it out. Michalek clears the rebound out of danger.

18:44: Another defensive breakdown. Another leaky goal. Another Flyers' lead. Simmonds out-battles Engelland and Letang in the right wing corner for a puck and taps it to Jagr in the right circle. Jagr slides a pass to Giroux to the left ot the cage. Giroux is able to tap the puck and clunk it under Fleury's legs. Horrible positioning in the defensive zone. And Fleury should have stopped that. Simmonds and Jagr get assists. Flyers 1-0.

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18:31: Another melt down in progress. Malkin hooks Couturier in between the legs with his stick off a faceoff. A stupid, stupid, stupid penalty. Couturier sold it. Malkin, Orpik, Staal and Cooke take the ice.

17:05: Shorthanded, Letang snaps off a wrister from the left circle on net. Brzygalov eats it up.

16:23: Malkin makes amends. He emerges from the penalty box and picks up a puck. He barrels into the offensive zone and taps a little pass to Dupuis on the left wing. Dupuis drives a slapper on net. Bryzgalov makes the save but allows a rebound. Malkin drives to the cage and kicks the rebound to his stick. He punches in a backhander by the glove hand of Bryzgalov to tie the game. Welcome to the playoffs Evgeni Malkin. Dupuis and Park get assists. That's a huge goal. But don't go anywhere. Flyers 1, Penguins 1.

13:42: Michalek steps up on the righ twing and whacks a wriste ron net. Bryzgalov steers it away.

13:16: Dupuis drives a big one-timer from the left circle. Brzygalov stretches to his left and holds it out. Crosby jumps on a potential rebound but play is blown dead. Coburn is called for holding. A big chance here for the Penguins. A big chance for the Flyers too given how well they have scored on the penalty kill. Malkin, Crosby, Kunitz, Sullivan and Letang take the ice.

13:12: Off the faceoff, Kunitz drops Timonen into the end boards.

12:54: Letang rips a wrister from the left point. It hits a body or two en route to the cage and slides wide as Malkin attempts to whack at it.

12:17: Malkin weaves his way into the offenisve zone and sneaks a pass to Sullivan in the left circle. Sullivan puts a wrister on net. Bryzgalov kicks it out.

12:04: Sullivan booms a slapper form the left point. Grossman blocks it.

11:55: Matt Niskanen to the rescue. Crosby takes a pass above the left circle and slides a pass to Niskanen in the left circle. Niskanen drives a one-timer which beats Bryzgalov. What a big goal in so many ways. Crosby and Sullivan get assists. Penguins 2-1.

10:28: Kunitz pumps a wrister on net form the left circle. It clacks off Bryzgalov's lid.

9:40: Despres recovers a puck behind his own net and is smacked by Rinaldo. That creates a turnover which ends up on Rinaldo's stick  in the left circle. Rinaldo whips it on net. Fleury kicks it out.

8:51: Michalek pumps a shot/pass from the right point well wide to the far side.

8:21: Grossman plays a puck from the right wing corner of his own zone. Kennedy races up the boards and smacks him. THe hit leaves Grossman limping.

8:10: Braydon Coburn goes in deep on the right wing and whips a one-handed backhander towards the slot. Orpik keeps up with him and blocks it.

7:44: Another break for the Penguins. Rinaldo is up this old tricks and hits Engelland without the puck into the end boards of the Penguins' zone. That's two minutes for interference. Sullivan, Kunitz, Letang, Mnalkina nd Crosby take the ice.

7:18: From the left circle, Malkin slide a pass to Letang int he slot. letang drives a one-timer on net. Bryzgalov is in perfect position and eats it up.

6:58: Kunitz gets tangled up with Coburn at the Flyers' blue line as the Penguins enter the offensive zone. That's interference. Four on four for 1:17.

6:32: Another penalty. THe officials are calling this tight. As Niskanen and Jagr battle for ap uck int he right wing corner. Orpik gives him a cross check to the back. Briere takes a tumble to sell it. That's two minutes. Orpik gives Briere some grief afterwards. Four on three for two minutes.

6:08: ANOTHER penalty. Cooke is nabbed for high sticking. battles for a puck on the left wing boards with Hartnell. His stick rides up and clips Hartnell in the face. Hartnell was holding his stick there. Either way, it's a bad situation for the Penguins.

6:03: Jagr snaps off a wristrer from the left circle wide to the far side.

5:43: Jagr chops a one-timer form the left circle wide.

5:35: The Flyers get a five on three for 35 seconds.

5:15: Jagr lifs a wrister from the left circleFleury battles it away.

4:54: That was only amatter of time. Another power play goal for the Flyers. Timonen booms a oen-timer from the right circle. It clunks in off Fleury's right pad and trickles itno the net through his five hole. Tie game. Fleury has to stop that. The Flyers will still have 1:48 of a five on four. Giroux and Briere get assists. Flyers 2, Penguins 2.

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4:08: Simmonds controls the puck to the left othe cage. Fleury hugs the near post and Letang slides over to poke check. Simmonds is able to sneak a rolling pass to Voracek in th right circle. Voracek pokes the pass by the glove hand of a lunging Fleury. No chance for Fleury there. Simmonds and Hartnell get assists. Flyers 3-2.

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3:41: What a ridiculous series. Niskanen booms a slapper from the righ tpoint. It hits off the leg of Couturier and deflects by Bryzgalov's glove hand. Officials review the goal and confirm the goal. xx get assists. Flyers 3, Penguins 3.

3:11: Talbot steals a puck at the Penguisn blue line from Letang and pushes it up the right wing. He's able to slides a cross-ice pass to Wellwood. Malkin

3:04: Malkin pushes the puck up the left wing and tries to chip and chase it by Carle. Carle throws Malkin to the ice. Kennedy picks it up and snaps off a wrister which Brzgalov eats up.

2:59: Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Niskanen booms a one-timer wide.

2:51: Briere chops a one-timer from the left circle wide of the cage.

2:31: What is in the world is going on? Staal beats Kubina to a puck at the Flyers' end boards. He swings around and slides pass to Cooke in the slot. Cooke slides to the left circle and puts a wrister on net. Bryzgalov kicks it out. Tangradi whacks at the rebound. Bryzgalov denies that. Tangradi collects the rebound and slides a pass to the slot where Staal plunks in the easy goal. What is this? Completely bizarre. Great composed play by Tangradi. Great effor to steal the puck by Staal. Penguins 4-3.

2:23: Off the ensuing faceoff, Crosby races up the right wing and lifts a wrister on net. It hits off the side of the net.

0:23: Kennedy whacks a backhander from the right corner. Bzygalov steers it away.

0:01: Crosby whacks a slapper as time expires. Bryzgalov punches it away with his blocker.

0:00: Carle holds up Malkin at the Flyers' blue line as Crosby shoots. That's two minutes for interference. Awful time to take a penalty. Penguins 4, Flyers 3.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-This series defies every bit of conventional wisdom about playoff hockey. Both goaltenders have had their games erode this series. The defenses are non existant. The special teams are wild. This isn't playoff hockey. This is a November game between the Flames and Jets in 1986.

-Fleury continues to struggle. But what can you expect behind this defense? The first and third goals looked like passing drills.

-Bryzaglov is struggling too. At this point, why don't the Flyers consider Sergei Bobrovsky?

-The Penguins' power play has had a strong game. One goal and no shorthanded goals allowed. Progress!

-The Penguins' penalty kill is still struggling. Three goals on three chances.

-Boy are the officials calling things tight. They're also calling things tight in the Rangers-Senators game. Seems like someone in the league office wants to curb the violence.

-The Penguins have a 15-11 lead in shots.

-Jagr leads the game with three shots.

-Dupuis, Kennedy, Letang and Malkin each lead the Penguins with two.

-Timonen leads the game with 8:06 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 7:55.

-The Penguins have a 17-12 lead in faceoffs (59 percent).

-Malkin is 5 for 6 (83 percent).

-Giroux is 7 for 12 (58 percent).

-Timonen leads the game with two blocked shots.

-No other player has more than one.

SECOND PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have a power play on fresh ice. Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Letang and Sullivan take the ice.

19:33: Malkin booms a one-timer faom above the right circle over the cage.

18:57: Malkin chops a shot from the right circle. Bryzgalov holds it out. Kunitz crashes in and jabs a the rebound. Bryzglov holds his ground.

17:58: As the power play expires, Wellwood pushes the puck up the right wing and whacks a backhander on net. Fleury gloves it.

17:19: Jagr motors around the cage and tries to tuck in a forehand wraparound. He send it wide.

17:01: Another penalty. Giroux high sticked Orpik. He kind of slashed Orpik across the shoulders.. Malkin, Crosby, Kunitz, Sullivan and Letang take the ice.

16:53: Another. Special. Teams. Goal?!?!  Crosby slides a pass from the right circle across the ice to Letang in the left circle. Letang grips and rips a wrister between Bobrovsky's blocker and the near post. The Flyers finally pull the trigger and put Sergei Bobrovsky in net in place of Bobrovsky. About time. Crosby and Sullivan get assists. Penguins 5-3.

15:57: Coburn snaps off a wrister from the left point wide of the cage on the near side.

15:28: Grossman chops a one-timer from the top of the slot. It hits a body in front.

15:13: Brian Strait chops a slapper from the left point. Bobrovsky eats it up.

15:03: Off a drop pass from Malkin, Park rips a wrister form the left circle. Bobrovsky fights it off.

14:28: Letang races up the left wing and puts a backhander wide of the cage. Grossman dive to block the shot but ends up tripping up Letang. Letang crashes into the board back first. He's wincing in pain behidn the cage. Grossman is called for tripping. Sullivan, Kunitz, Niskanen, Malkin and Crosby take the ice.

13:53: Talbot pushes a puck up ice shorthanded but is stripped of the puck by Sullivan at the Penguins' blue line.

13:07: Sullivan takes a pass above the left circle and chops a one-timer. Bobrovsky fights it off.

12:39: Jordan Staal stepping up. Another. Special. Teams. Goal. Carle flings a clearing attempt from the right wing corner but has the puck intercepted by Letang. Letang one-touches it to the slot. The puck skids to the left of the cage. Kennedy collects the puck, turns and deals a calm pass to Staal int he slot. Staal rips a wrister by the blocker of Bobrovsky. What a play by Letang. He gets an assist along with Kennedy. THe Flyers call the dreaded game-changing time out. What a crazy game. Penguisn 6-3.

12:20: Cooke is dropped at the Penguins blue line on the right wing by Lilja.

11:47: Tangradi pushes the puck up the left wing and is hooked to the ice by Carle. That's two minutes for holding the stick. Another power play chance for the Penguins. Malkin, Crosby, Kunitz, Letang and Sullivan take the ice.

10:46: Sullivan has a slapper from the left point blocked by Giroux. Giroux pushes the rebound up the left wing boards but has the puck stolek by Letang.

10:33: Malkin lifts a wrister from the left circle. Bobrovsky hugs it against his body.

10:13: Letang has a slapper form the right half wall blocked.

10:15: Kennedy has a wrister from the left circle kicked out bty Bobrovsky.

9:47: The Carle minor is killed.

9:35: Staal has a wrister form the left circle blocked in front.

9:20: Another penalty by the Flyers. Read hits Despres high in the neutral zone. Kind of a ticky tack penalty.

9:05: This is a dream right? What is this? Sullivan motors in from behidn his net, races through the neutral zone and rives a slapper by the glove hand of Bobrovsky. Did Bernie Parent bring his gear tonight? Fleury gets the only assist. Penguins 7-3.

7:59: Giroux takes a pass in the slot and chops it over the cage. Park kind of tackles him to the ice and into Fleury. Play is halted. Park is called for interference while the Flyers get a too many men on the ice minor. Wellwood will serve the minor. Four on four.

7:48: Letang races up the right wing and puts a wrister on net. Bobrovsky gloves it.

6:32: Carle chucks a wrister from the left half wall. It hits a body and deflects out of play.

5:35: Off a turnover by the Penguins in their own zone, Wellwood has a chance o the

5:22: Fleury comes through with a big save finally. Jagr pushes the puck up the right wing, pulls up and deals a pass to Giroux in the left circle. Giroux drives a one-timer ot the far side. Fleury kicks it out.

5:02: Another goal. Sure, why not? Off a turnover by the Flyers at their own blue line, the Penguins chip the puck into the right wing corner. Coburn skates back to recover it but is forces into a poor pass by Malkin's forecheck. The puck boucnes loose betwen Carle and Hartnell. Kunitz jumps on it to the left of the cage and one touches it to Dupuis in the slot. Dupuis grips and rips a wrister by the glove hand of a helpless Bobrovsky. Kunitz gets the only assist. Malkin could make a case for one. Penguins 8-3.

3:57: Speechless. How do you describe this madness? Cooke tries to control a puck at the left point of his own zone. Instead of playing the puck, Lilja tries to hit Cooke. The puck bounces loose. Staal picks it up and creats a two-on-one against Kubina with Tangradi. Kubina slides down to take away the pass. Staal elects to shoot and snaps off a wrister which burns the glove hand of Bobrovsky. Engelland takes the only assist. Staal gets his first career postseason hat trick. Penguins 9-3.

3:17: Rinaldo loses his head. He hits Michalek from behind. Officials blow play dead. Rinaldo decides to turn and sock Michalek in the face. Michalek goes down in a heap in discomfort. Officials step in right away and send Rinaldo to the dressing room. Rinaldo gets a whole mess of penalties. He's kicked out of the game. The Penguins end p with a four-minute power play. Schenn will serve both. Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Kunitz and Sullivan take the ice.

1:17: The first minor to Rinaldo is killed.

0:55: Malkin lifts a wrister from

0:00: End of period. Penguins 9, Flyers. 3.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-We really don't know what to say about this. The entire series has been surreal. Down is up. Left is right. Nothing makes sense.

-The Penguins are just doing a much better job of capitalizing on the Flyers' mistakes. Just like the Flyers have done to the Penguisn for three games.

-What do you say about the Flyers' goaltending? It's been awful. But so has their defense.

-The officials aren't letting much go.

-The Flyers didn't play Zac Rinaldo for an entire 12:14 between shifts before he hit Michalek. Remember when the great Joe Vitale hit Daniel Briere a few weeks back and Flyers coach Peter Laviolette accused Dan Bylsma of being "gutless" for not playing that fourth line for "12 minutes." We wonder how he feels about Rinaldo's ice time.

-The only thing either team can accomplish here is to avoid injuries/suspensions.

-The Penguins lead in shots, 31-20.

-Letang leads the game with five.

-Jagr leads the Flyers with four.

-Letang leads the game with 17:37 of ice time.

-Coburn leads the Flyers with 17:07.

-The Penguins lead the game in faceoffs, 32-21 (60 percent).

-Staal is 11 for 16 (69 percent).

-Giroux is 12 for 21 (57 percent).

-Lilja lead sthe game with four blocked shots.

-None of the Penguins has more than one.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 43 seconds of power play time to work with on fresh ice.

18:17: The Flyers return to full strength.

18:33: Off a poor turnover by Kennedy in his own zone, Jagr has a chance in tight but can't get a clean shot off.

17:30: Michalek is back on the ice.

16:46: Crosby circles around the offensive zone and flings a backhander from the slot. It hits a body in front.

15:57: Ten. Flipping. Goals. Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Kubina pounds a slapper from the right point. Fleury kcisk ti out. Kennedy chips it up ice from hte left half wal. Kunit recovers it in the neutlra zone, gains the offenisv ezone and snaps off a wrister which Bobrovsky kicks out. The rebound kicks out to Malkin in the slot. Malkin plunks it into the open cage. A touchdown, an extra point and a field goal. Kunitz and Kennedy get assists. Penguins 10-3.

15:06: After an icing call, the Penguins call a timeout to get a breather.

14:53: Simmonds has a chance in tight but is denied by Fleury.

14:09: Fleury is warming up. Coburn takes a pass in the slot and lifts a backhander on net. Fleury stretches to his left and robs him with a glove hand.

14:05: Kubina is smacked to the right wing boards by Tangradi.

11:54: Read and Engelland battle for a puck in the right wing corner. Engelland drops him with a stiff right shoulder.

11:12: The Flyers lose their cool again. Simmonds and Kubina drop Cooke in the left wing circle of the Flyers' zone. He's dropped to the ice. Simmonds is sticking his hands in everone's face to gode them. Nothing comes of that.  Ofiicals dole out a bunch of penalties. Cooke is called for holding the stick and gets a 10-minute misconduct. Vitale, Kubina and Simmonds each get 10-minute misconducts as well. Officials did the smart thing there. They want to get this ended before "The Daily Show" starts. It remains five on five.

7:15: Tangradi gets a shift with Crosby and Kennedy.

5:00: At this point, neither team is really pressing the issue. They are just playing to stay healthy/unsuspended.

3:00: More of the same. Just trying to finish the game.

1:48: Malkin air mails a slapper from the red lien on net. Bobrovsky punches it away. The fans offer mock cheers.

0:30: The remaining Flyers fan begin a "LET'S GO FLYERS!" chant.

0:00: End of game. Steelers Penguins 10, Eagles Flyers 3.

-Regardless of where this series go, the Penguins did something huge tonight. Not only did they hold off elimination by preventing a sweep, they did a lot to restore dignity to the franchise. They refused to act like petulant children as they did in Game 3. They walked away from confrontations. They avoided stuff after the whistles. They played like the team they like to portray themselves as.

-The two things which were welcome returns for the Penguins? Sound defensive positioning and Marc-Andre Fleury playing with confidence. And it seemed like things were going to cave in early with the Flyers getting power play goals in the first period. The defense was chasing the Flyers around in the defensive zone and Fleury was letting in a few clunkers. But once the Penguins regained the lead, both the defense started to stiffen up and Fleury starting making tough saves.

-Evgeni Malkin breaking loose tonight was huge. He had been a non-factor, particularly in five-on-five play, for most of the series. The Penguins shifted their lines a little bit tonight and that seemed to give him the chances he needed to cash in. This team won't go anywhere without him contributing offensively.

-Special teams were once again key. The Flyers got all their offense from the power play. The Penguins managed to keep the Flyers from scoring a shorthanded goal which is huge. And they converted FOUR power play goals. Yeesh.

-The officials really had an impact ont he game. They were calling just about everything. They didn't all either team to get away with much. It'll be interesting to see how Game 5 is called.

-Remember in the preseason when Matt Niskanen's paltry $1.5 million salary seemed to be a drag on the Penguins' salary cap? That seems like a long time ago now huh? He was vital tonight. He's a steady, reliable presence in all three zone on this team who just seems to do the right thing more often than not in all situations.

-Eric Tangradi had a strong playoff debut. His game has come so far this season. Dan Bylsma was offering less than rosy assesments of his game in the preseason. Tonight, he's playing shutdown hockey on the team's third line in the most important game of the season. He helped create some offensive chances and even drew a penalty.

-Simon Despres was sharp in his playoff debut as well. He just seemed calm, composed and alert in a hornets nest of an environement. He looked so much more composed than Paul Martin.

-We had to rag on Paul Martin. He's a good person. But the team just looked better without him. Period.

-The seven defenseman look appeared to cut down on the Penguins relying on any one group of defensemen, particularly Kris Letang, and spread the minutes out. Hopefully that spares the Penguins' top blue liners from some wear and tear.

-Jordan Staal has stepped up on the road offensively. He collected two goals in Game 3 and gave the Penguins a chance there. Tonight, he just buried the Flyers. His hat trick is the first by a Penguins player since "The Geno:"

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-The Flyers' offensive stars really disappeared five on five tonight. Daniel Briere was nearly invisble. Scott Hartnell has been invisible all series in terms of offense. Brayden Schenn was MIA.

-We don't know how Zac Rinaldo's hit and punch on Zbynek Michalek doesn't merit a suspension. He hits a player from behind then socks him as he tries to recover to his skates. It's a pretty blatant shot to the head after a dangerous hit from behind.

-The Flyers goaltending was a hot mess. Neither goaltender looked sharp. What in the world do they do going forward.

-Several reports out of Philadelphia indicate Nicklas Grossman left the game due to an "upper-body" injury. Some are speculating it's a concussion.

-Ultimately, the important thing to take away from tonight is that it's still 3-1 Flyers.

-The Penguins have a 36-25 lead in shots.

-Malkin led the game with six shots.

-Jaromir Jagr led the Flyers with four.

-Braydon Coburn led the game with 26:55 of ice time.

-Letang led the Penguins with 23:04.

-The Penguins led in faceoffs, 40-29 (58 percent).

-Staal was 15 for 23 (65 percent).

-Giroux was 14 for 25 (56 percent).

-Andreas Lilja led the game with six blocked shots.

-Letang, Despres and Chris Kunitz each led the game with two blocked shots.

-How high scoring is this series? The Penguins and Flyers have combined for 45 goals. The other three Eastern Conference series have combined for 46.

-The Penguins already have 22 goals this series. The franchise record for most in a series is 29. And that was in a seven-game series, a 1995 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Capitals.

-The Penguins tied a franchise record for most goals in a playoff game. The last time they scored 10 was a 10-7 defeat of the Flyers in Game 5 of the 1989 Patrick Division final. You might recall that game for Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall chasing Rob Brown:

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-The Penguins also tied a franchise record connected that series by allowing their ninth power play goal.

-Crosby (33 goals) moved past former Penguins captain Ron Francis (32 goals) for fourth-most postseason goals in franchise history.

-Staal (34 points) moved past Maxime Talbot (33) for 12th place the franchise's career postseason scoring list.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: