Eastern Conf. Finals Preview

[Raji]

Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh
Season series: 5-3 Philadelphia
Series price: Pittsburgh -200, Philadelphia +180

When you think of great rivalries in the NHL, the Flyers and Penguins don’t immediately come to mind for a lot of old time hockey fans.

That might change by mid-May.

For those who haven’t had a chance to see much of these interstate rivals battle this season, they really don’t like each other. The proof is in the penalty minutes. In the eight meetings this season, these teams combined for 425 minutes in the sin bin for an average of 53 per game.

The nastiest of those meetings was Dec. 11 when the Flyers pounded the Pens 8-2. The two clubs racked up 156 minutes in a fight-filled affair that took just 20 seconds from the opening faceoff before the gloves hit the ice.

The bitterness was fueled from the 2006 season when Pittsburgh embarrassed the Flyers by winning all eight meetings. Philly made sure that didn’t happen again this year when it picked up star Daniel Brier and goaltender Martin Biron from the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason.

Those two guys are now leading Philly through what some consider an improbable playoff run. Briere has eight goals and 14 points and Biron is playing sensationally while getting peppered routinely with more than 30 shots per game.

Vaclav Prospal, R.J. Umberger and Mike Richards are all making a case for the Flyers also for those who don’t feel they have the fire power to keep up with Pittsburgh. Each one of those players has at least nine points in the playoffs and Umberger ranks second in the postseason with eight goals.

The production is in part thanks to a power play that continues to roll after finishing second in the league in the regular season. The Flyers are scoring at a 24 percent clip on the PP and that will be a huge factor in this series.

Pittsburgh is right behind at 23.4 percent on the power play, though the Pens’ penalty killing has been far better than Philly’s. The Penguins have allowed just four power play goals against through nine games while the Flyers have allowed 13 goals through 12 games.

That could spell trouble against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who are tied for second in postseason scoring with 14 points apiece. Marian Hossa isn’t far behind with 10 points and Ryan Malone has nine, so there is no shortage of scoring power.

The key to this series could come down to goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury is finally turning into the goalie the Pens thought they drafted and he leads the playoffs in shutouts (2) and save percentage (.938).

Home ice will also be huge. Crosby will hear the boos every time he touches the puck in Philadelphia and the Penguins have yet to be defeated on home ice these playoffs.

Pick: Penguins in six games

Raji