“Philadelphia Flyers to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round,” has been the scenario for a while, and now it seems almost imminent. Both teams have held the fourth and fifth spots in the Eastern Conference since January 25th. No one would have expected it to stay that way, but it has. When you go back and look at recent history, a Flyers/Penguins matchup is a frightening one for Flyers fans. Will this year be different?
The previous two playoff matchups between these two teams have led to two Pittsburgh wins; and both of those Pittsburgh teams have gone on to the Stanley Cup, winning once. Granted, this year’s Flyers squad is a completely different one from the 2008 or 2009 teams. The offensive production from this team is like no other. On any given night, one player can put the team on his back and take over the game. That is exactly what you need from a team come playoffs. And if Bryz comes back playing the way he did in March…look out.
Although the Flyers seem like a scary team, every Philadelphia fan knows how dangerous the Penguins can be. They were hot before Crosby, and now he’s back. Yes, he is a weasel. And yes, he does whine more than anyone in the history of the game. But for some reason he finds ways to produce; especially against the Flyers. With the history of production against the Flyers by both Malkin and Crosby (I cringe when I hear either of those names, too), the Penguins are a dangerous opening round competitor.
Alright, I might be getting ahead of myself with all this Flyers/Pens talk. Nothing has been set in stone. There is still a chance that the Devils could play the Penguins, which would leave the Flyers playing the Panthers. Let’s all pray for that one. But even if the Flyers play Pittsburgh, the Flyers are 4-1-0 against them this year. Although I don’t see a Flyers/Penguins series ending in 5 games, the numbers look good for Philly going into mid-April.
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