Flyers-Pens Eastern Conference Finals Preview
Posted 5:36 PM ET | Comments 2
[size=22]Flyers-Pens Eastern Conference Finals Series Preview[/size]
Schedule:
Fri., May 9, 2008 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Sun., May 11, 2008 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Tues., May 13, 2008 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Thurs., May 15, 2008 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Sun., May 18, 2008 3:00 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, RDS
*Tues., May 20, 2008 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Thurs., May 22, 200 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Look, I think the Pens win this series too, but I'm not going to be shocked if my Flyers win it. Your talking about all these role players for the Penguins, you're not looking into our depth at all which beats even the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers have a very solid plan from what I've read.
Shutting Down the Big Two Lines:
First, they will deploy Carter, because of size, out against Malkin. Knuble is also a player on this line that can really play solid in his own zone. Upshall will be out there trying to get under the skin of Europeans Sykora and Malkin. Boy Pittsburgh better not cough up the puck, because this line thrives off rushes. With the speed of Carter and Upshall and the work that Knuble does in front of the net, this line has been deadly all playoff long. You have two near 30 goal scorers, and Upshall is a high energy player that missed 30 so game of the year, but put up solid numbers. Remember Upshall was the 6th overall pick by Nashville a few years back. The key here against Malkin will be the Flyers will be putting the the best D-Pairing in the playoffs out there against him. Timonen-Coburn time, let's see how Malkin handles it. These two kept Ovechkin very limited and then totally shut down Sniper Alexei Kovalev in the last series. Expect Coburn not to lose sight of Malkin and be shadowing him every step he takes. Timonen must lookout for the quick snippy and snappy shots of Peter Skykora, and Timonen needs to continue to block shots to keep rebounds and tips away from Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone. This task is perhaps a tad easier then stopping the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov line, but it would be by a hair. I think the Flyers can put up some goals, so you don't need to totally shut them down. Like Ovechkin, keep Malkin limited.
Second, Richards will be out against the Crosby line. The All-Star Two Way forward and leader of the Flyers holds a big task. Besides Crosby, All-Star Marian Hossa, who is heating up, will be on the wing. The Flyers will turn to RJ Umberger and Mike Richards to be solid two way players again in this series. Crosby must be hit, obviously. For that, the Flyers will try to frustrate him by putting not only Richards, who agitates a bit if you've ever seen him get Avery pissed, and Derian Hatcher. Hatcher and Crosby have bad blood to begin with ever since Hatcher layed him out in Crosby's first game at the Wachovia Center two years ago. The Flyers need Hatch to be physical and as the playoffs move along he becomes more and more valuable to his team and steps it up, or at least he has at other times in his career, and I expect no less from Hatch now. He's been a warrior all year and very solid penalty killer. The Flyers also have Randy Jones, a plus 7 in the postseason which leads/tied with all Defenders. Jones is playing like he did in the beginning of this season...remarkable. He's got to continue to step it up. The Flyers have a nice matchup here. If they can do what they want in their own zone, hit and play good defense, then it should for rushes and scoring chances on the other end. With our MVP and scoring leader Richards, red hot and Pittsburgh killer RJ Umberger, and the Sniper Joffrey Lupul, who had a 6 point game against Pittsburgh earlier in the season, you could see this line put up some big numbers against a weak two way line that includes offensive minded players named Hossa and Crosby, especially Hossa. You better not give Richards odd-man rushes, he tends to finish them with either his dazzling breakaway move, a snappy shot, or a great pass. The Flyers also must continue to be the best shot blocking team in the playoffs. The Pens have WHitney, Gonchar, and Letang at the point.
Hatcher drags Crosby
Toughness:
Sure the Pens have Malone, Ruutu, and Laraque. But the Flyers will match them with Scottie Hartnell, Upshall, Cote, and possibly Downie. The toughness and hits in this series are going to be a big impact. One time might not be able to hold up in this long grueling series.
Pittsburgh will Key in on Defense too:
Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, and Vinny Prospal will have their hands full. Two Thirty Goal Scorers and Hartnell, a 25 goal scorer, make this our number one offensive unit and they will be seeing a healthy dose of Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh's shut down centerman. That line also includes agitator Jarko Ruutu, him and Hartnell will be going at it all series. I wouldn't expect Ruutu to agitate a player like Briere, he usually is very calm, but I'm sure Jarko will try. He's always got something up his sleeve. Jordan can put the puck in the net, and Ruutu has been scoring some even lately as well, so Briere's line has to be careful and not turn the puck over. Briere and Prospal need to step up for us to win this series. Briere has been red hot in the post season with 14 points in 12 games. Prospal has 12 points in 12 games, but was very quieted in the Montreal series. Prospal was exactly what Danny needed and this is a move at the deadline that hasn't drawn the same amount of hype as the Hossa or Cambpell move, but it is drawing just as much if not more rewards as it has gotten Danny Briere going.
Goaltending:
Both goalies have yet to see the amount of depth and firepower that eachother's teams have. Fleury will have to try and stop Seven 20 goal scorers plus Upshall, Umberger, and others. Biron will have his hands full with all-stars Hossa, Malkin, Crosby, and the rest of their offensive weapons. Each team must continue to play great team defense for their respective squads to win. Both goalies are hot.
The Flyers will continue to be underestimated and be the underdog, but that doesn't bother me. They said the same thing in 1974 from what I'm told.
Bad Blood:
During the season the Flyers went 5-3 against Pittsburgh. Including a 7-1 Loss and a 8-2 win over the the Penguins. During each of these games there were plenty of scrums. Richards blatently jumped and hit someone, I believe Talbot, at the end of the 7-1 loss and was tossed. Laraque cheapshoted Steve Downie in a 4-3 win for the Flyers. Laraque received a 5 minute major and a misconduct. Laraque also in the 8-2 win slid underneath of Biron. Laraque is a classy player in my opinion, but many Flyers fans don't think so, I'll say that. During the 8-2 win Sidney Crosby was made the 3rd star just so the fans could boo him more and continue their vulgar chants which I cannot repeat. Pens fans responded by chanting "Go Home Flyers" after beating the Flyers 7-1 and then 4-2. Ben Eager during the 8-2 loss went to Pens coach Therrien's conference and shouted you're a joke to him. Their coach was whining that the Flyers had their top PP unit out in a blowout with 10 minutes to go, going as far as to say even Danny Briere didn't want to be out there. Briere lated stated how the hell would he know. Their coach responded by putting their top PP out in the 7-1 win over the Flyers a few months later. These two teams are eachother's biggest rivals, they're instate rivals, and I can tell you Philly fans hate Crosby more then any other city, is it jealousy? Maybe, but who knows. Bragging rights are certainly on the line here, it should be a series for the ages. Flyers must stay disciplined, stay out of the box at all costs!
Laraque Hammers Downie
Laraque slides into Biron
Eager Runs Laraque
Fun Facts:
-Front Five Row tickets at the Wachovia Center would cost you over $1000 per ticket if you were to get them off of StubHub/Tickets Now/EBAY, the only places where you can still get them.
-The Flyers sold the few remaining ECF tickets for Games 3 and 4 15 minutes after Montreal's Game 5 ended.
-Penguins tickets also are costing a fortune to get for Flyers fans who like to come down in bunches.
-Ryan Malone and RJ Umberger are Pittsburgh Natives.
-Malkin on Philly fans and the team, "When we play against them, we have problems like people throwing popcorn on our bench," Malkin said. "I don't really like to play against them... I don't like that team. It's something that's a little bit extra."
-Get Ready for the Orange Crush and the Pittsburgh Whiteout! Two of America's Most Passionate hockey fans going at it!
Enjoy the Series
~Flyersfan15
Schedule:
Fri., May 9, 2008 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Sun., May 11, 2008 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Tues., May 13, 2008 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Thurs., May 15, 2008 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Sun., May 18, 2008 3:00 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC, RDS
*Tues., May 20, 2008 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Thurs., May 22, 200 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Look, I think the Pens win this series too, but I'm not going to be shocked if my Flyers win it. Your talking about all these role players for the Penguins, you're not looking into our depth at all which beats even the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers have a very solid plan from what I've read.
Shutting Down the Big Two Lines:
First, they will deploy Carter, because of size, out against Malkin. Knuble is also a player on this line that can really play solid in his own zone. Upshall will be out there trying to get under the skin of Europeans Sykora and Malkin. Boy Pittsburgh better not cough up the puck, because this line thrives off rushes. With the speed of Carter and Upshall and the work that Knuble does in front of the net, this line has been deadly all playoff long. You have two near 30 goal scorers, and Upshall is a high energy player that missed 30 so game of the year, but put up solid numbers. Remember Upshall was the 6th overall pick by Nashville a few years back. The key here against Malkin will be the Flyers will be putting the the best D-Pairing in the playoffs out there against him. Timonen-Coburn time, let's see how Malkin handles it. These two kept Ovechkin very limited and then totally shut down Sniper Alexei Kovalev in the last series. Expect Coburn not to lose sight of Malkin and be shadowing him every step he takes. Timonen must lookout for the quick snippy and snappy shots of Peter Skykora, and Timonen needs to continue to block shots to keep rebounds and tips away from Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone. This task is perhaps a tad easier then stopping the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov line, but it would be by a hair. I think the Flyers can put up some goals, so you don't need to totally shut them down. Like Ovechkin, keep Malkin limited.
Second, Richards will be out against the Crosby line. The All-Star Two Way forward and leader of the Flyers holds a big task. Besides Crosby, All-Star Marian Hossa, who is heating up, will be on the wing. The Flyers will turn to RJ Umberger and Mike Richards to be solid two way players again in this series. Crosby must be hit, obviously. For that, the Flyers will try to frustrate him by putting not only Richards, who agitates a bit if you've ever seen him get Avery pissed, and Derian Hatcher. Hatcher and Crosby have bad blood to begin with ever since Hatcher layed him out in Crosby's first game at the Wachovia Center two years ago. The Flyers need Hatch to be physical and as the playoffs move along he becomes more and more valuable to his team and steps it up, or at least he has at other times in his career, and I expect no less from Hatch now. He's been a warrior all year and very solid penalty killer. The Flyers also have Randy Jones, a plus 7 in the postseason which leads/tied with all Defenders. Jones is playing like he did in the beginning of this season...remarkable. He's got to continue to step it up. The Flyers have a nice matchup here. If they can do what they want in their own zone, hit and play good defense, then it should for rushes and scoring chances on the other end. With our MVP and scoring leader Richards, red hot and Pittsburgh killer RJ Umberger, and the Sniper Joffrey Lupul, who had a 6 point game against Pittsburgh earlier in the season, you could see this line put up some big numbers against a weak two way line that includes offensive minded players named Hossa and Crosby, especially Hossa. You better not give Richards odd-man rushes, he tends to finish them with either his dazzling breakaway move, a snappy shot, or a great pass. The Flyers also must continue to be the best shot blocking team in the playoffs. The Pens have WHitney, Gonchar, and Letang at the point.
Hatcher drags Crosby
Toughness:
Sure the Pens have Malone, Ruutu, and Laraque. But the Flyers will match them with Scottie Hartnell, Upshall, Cote, and possibly Downie. The toughness and hits in this series are going to be a big impact. One time might not be able to hold up in this long grueling series.
Pittsburgh will Key in on Defense too:
Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, and Vinny Prospal will have their hands full. Two Thirty Goal Scorers and Hartnell, a 25 goal scorer, make this our number one offensive unit and they will be seeing a healthy dose of Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh's shut down centerman. That line also includes agitator Jarko Ruutu, him and Hartnell will be going at it all series. I wouldn't expect Ruutu to agitate a player like Briere, he usually is very calm, but I'm sure Jarko will try. He's always got something up his sleeve. Jordan can put the puck in the net, and Ruutu has been scoring some even lately as well, so Briere's line has to be careful and not turn the puck over. Briere and Prospal need to step up for us to win this series. Briere has been red hot in the post season with 14 points in 12 games. Prospal has 12 points in 12 games, but was very quieted in the Montreal series. Prospal was exactly what Danny needed and this is a move at the deadline that hasn't drawn the same amount of hype as the Hossa or Cambpell move, but it is drawing just as much if not more rewards as it has gotten Danny Briere going.
Goaltending:
Both goalies have yet to see the amount of depth and firepower that eachother's teams have. Fleury will have to try and stop Seven 20 goal scorers plus Upshall, Umberger, and others. Biron will have his hands full with all-stars Hossa, Malkin, Crosby, and the rest of their offensive weapons. Each team must continue to play great team defense for their respective squads to win. Both goalies are hot.
The Flyers will continue to be underestimated and be the underdog, but that doesn't bother me. They said the same thing in 1974 from what I'm told.
Bad Blood:
During the season the Flyers went 5-3 against Pittsburgh. Including a 7-1 Loss and a 8-2 win over the the Penguins. During each of these games there were plenty of scrums. Richards blatently jumped and hit someone, I believe Talbot, at the end of the 7-1 loss and was tossed. Laraque cheapshoted Steve Downie in a 4-3 win for the Flyers. Laraque received a 5 minute major and a misconduct. Laraque also in the 8-2 win slid underneath of Biron. Laraque is a classy player in my opinion, but many Flyers fans don't think so, I'll say that. During the 8-2 win Sidney Crosby was made the 3rd star just so the fans could boo him more and continue their vulgar chants which I cannot repeat. Pens fans responded by chanting "Go Home Flyers" after beating the Flyers 7-1 and then 4-2. Ben Eager during the 8-2 loss went to Pens coach Therrien's conference and shouted you're a joke to him. Their coach was whining that the Flyers had their top PP unit out in a blowout with 10 minutes to go, going as far as to say even Danny Briere didn't want to be out there. Briere lated stated how the hell would he know. Their coach responded by putting their top PP out in the 7-1 win over the Flyers a few months later. These two teams are eachother's biggest rivals, they're instate rivals, and I can tell you Philly fans hate Crosby more then any other city, is it jealousy? Maybe, but who knows. Bragging rights are certainly on the line here, it should be a series for the ages. Flyers must stay disciplined, stay out of the box at all costs!
Laraque Hammers Downie
Laraque slides into Biron
Eager Runs Laraque
Fun Facts:
-Front Five Row tickets at the Wachovia Center would cost you over $1000 per ticket if you were to get them off of StubHub/Tickets Now/EBAY, the only places where you can still get them.
-The Flyers sold the few remaining ECF tickets for Games 3 and 4 15 minutes after Montreal's Game 5 ended.
-Penguins tickets also are costing a fortune to get for Flyers fans who like to come down in bunches.
-Ryan Malone and RJ Umberger are Pittsburgh Natives.
-Malkin on Philly fans and the team, "When we play against them, we have problems like people throwing popcorn on our bench," Malkin said. "I don't really like to play against them... I don't like that team. It's something that's a little bit extra."
-Get Ready for the Orange Crush and the Pittsburgh Whiteout! Two of America's Most Passionate hockey fans going at it!
Enjoy the Series
~Flyersfan15
Nice blog, but I'd just like to offer up some info for you. You say the the Crosby line is offensive-minded (particularly Crosby and Hossa). This couldn't be farther from the truth. Marian Hossa is probably the best back checker I've seen in a long time. He's been absolutely amzing defensively. And Crosby is one of the best 2 way players in all of hockey. Other than that, I enjoyed your blog. Well done, and keep up the good work.h
All in all not too bad.. one definite mistake "Two of americas most passionate hockey fans" should not be in there.. remember...."pittsburgh, fans since 2005":)