Flyers-Pens Game 5: Time to Burn Down the Igloo

It was mid-February the Penguins lost at home, including their impressive playoff run and two wins over the Flyers to start the Eastern Conference Finals.  John Stevens is expecting top blueliners Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn to return to the lineup, which should help to slow the Penguins attack and jumpstart the Flyers' offensive rush and power play attempts. (UPDATE: Coburn is out.)

Coburn is said to be having some issues with his depth perception, and Timonen is still experiencing pain and numbness. For Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora both missed Saturday practice due to illness, but don't think we're lucky enough for either to be off their game today, although Scott Burnside thinks Malkin might be in a mini-slump this series. We disagree, but we hope he's right.

After being counted out by many in the hockey world, the Flyers rose to the occasion to stay alive and win game 4. The ECF Champions hats may already be for sale (jinx!), but this series isn't over yet. Yinz are in for a good one today.

Comments

[Dale Hunter]

Flyers season ends at around 6 today.

Pens win 4-1

[Justin Evans]

Coburn is out, Timonen is playing.

[Castor&Cottman]

who is this dale hunter asshole and why does he keep talking

[GreggyD]

Lucky me, I work from 3-11 today. I think I found a site where I can watch a streaming feed though. Let's hope it works.

[El Ricko]

I gotta find out where Don Cherry gets his suits.

[joe l]

Hey Dale -- what happened when the Caps played a lowly 6-seed a few weeks back? Oh yeah, that's right.

[PhillyFriar]

I don't think you'll find a reasonable Flyers fan who thinks the Penguins aren't a bit better as a team, but I swear I haven't seen the Flyers catch a break all series.

Case in point: Malone's goal. Which the announcers somehow seem to think was all part of Sidney Crosby's master plan.

[El Ricko]

Argh. It's the subplot of the series -- early penalty (Anyone catch it? Looked like holding could have been called on either Knuble or the Pens player), and a crappy Pens goal (this one of a Pens skate).

Argh argh argh.

[El Ricko]

Agree with Friar.

[Liam]

Yeah I really thought that was going to be one of those stupid Dive/Hooking calls. Esoecially after the replay showed the pen wasn't even moving his feet then all of a sudden falls

[El Ricko]

Well, that was ugly.

[joe l]

Uggh, pretty ugly so far on defense.

[Dale Hunter]

The rout is on!

[Mike L.]

Staying in the fucking net! Damn you Marty. Stupid shit goes and loses his stick.

[MPR529]

told you there was a conspiracy theory. i hate being right:

"What am I getting it? It's a conspiracy by the NHL & Mario to get the Pens more revenue by getting them another home game. i would not be surprised to see the flyers get blasted in game 5. i don't want to be right. but i cant help but feel that way."

[El Ricko]

Are we really going to lose to a puck off a skate, and a play where Marty loses his stick going behind the net? Really?

It's been fun, guys, I'm gonna go leap off a tall building.

[El Ricko]

Marty should have gone down after he lost his stick, he might have drawn the penalty.

[El Ricko]

So much for momentum from Game 4.

[enrico]

Thought that HAtcher shoulda thrown down with Laraque there even if he got his ass beat it woulda given them a little much needed energy.

[master94]

The Pens have more talent, but their fans suck. When I was in college at Univ. of Pittsburgh I could show up the night of Pens/Flyers game and there were a couple thousand student rush tickets for $15 to see Lemieux and Jagr play LeClair and Lindross. Pathetic. Pens fans often told me they stopped going because of rising ticket prices. Now that they are good again after getting No. 1 overall picks in 03
(Fleury) and 05 (Crosby) and second overall in 04 (Malkin), the fans are back. Steelers fans have legitimate passion and intensity - Pens fans not so much.

[rhetty]

Do the Flyers really need to advertise season ticket sales on the bottom of the screen in the middle of a power play. It cuts away from the HD feed during the scroll, and screws up the audio.

[Dale Hunter]

I think the Flyers have tee times ready for tomorrow.

Better enjoy the rest of the game because the Flyers won't be returning to the conference finals any time soon.

[Liam]

Lol why wouldn't they be? They have one of the better core of young players in the NHL? And have many top prospects in College/minors/other leagues almost ready to come to the NHL. Why wouldn't they be back to the conference finals anytime soon?

[El Ricko]

Dale's right, the Flyers won't get back to the conference finals for at least a year.

[Dale Hunter]

An average goalie and not enough cap room. You really think Biron will lead the Flyers to a Cup. How did Miller beat him out in Buffalo? This could be the last game you see Umberger and Carter with the Flyers. With all that money going to Briere, how are they signing both?

Now it's 4-0. Nice of the Flyers to lay down today

[MPR529]

it was fun while it lasted.

Let's go red wings.

[rhetty]

Im the first to admit the Penguins are clearly better in this series. But wow, the Flyers have not been able to catch one break the entire series. And can these announcers please stop praising the Penguins for being "smart players" and "drawing penalties?"

[MPR529]

the flyers didnt lay down, the pens are the better team - last game was part of a conspiracy to allow mario to get one more game of revenue esp on NBC.

flyers are getting blasted, like i expected and predicted.

wings/pens should be a good one. of course i thought this was going to be a good series too.

[PhillyFriar]

The Flyers have as good a chance as anyone -- including the Penguins -- to be back in the conference finals next year.

Getting Gagne back should really help an offense that's been sagging in this series, and we know how aggressive Holmgren will be in the offseason. Another defenseman or two, the emergence of a young player (Giroux?) and a little bit of luck as far as health goes, and the Flyers are right back in the mix.

[Dale Hunter]

Is that the fat lady I hear warming up.

[joe l]

Dale, you never answered my question. Tell me more about your team.

[brad]

@Dale

It's a shame the only team OV & Semin can win any hardware with is one not based in D.C.. And I wouldn't expect that to change any time soon.

[Castor&Cottman]

dale,

they already vowed to bring back both Umberger and carter. its Kapenen, smith and maybe hatcher who wont be back. Once Campbell gets here via FA. we will be back in the conference finals. Can't say the same for the Crapitals

[David]

I just wanna see some signs of life. Some passion, some energy and maybe an all out line brawl. I wanna see Mike Richards beat the shit outa somebody....

[Castor&Cottman]

as long as that somebody is crosby

[Dale Hunter]

Keep dreaming about signing Campbell. Not going to happen.

The Flyers really showed up today.

[PhillyFriar]

Fellas, fellas, I'm disappointed in all of you. And by "all of you" I mean "everyone not named Dale Hunter."

Just ignore him. The Caps are out of the playoffs and he has nothing better to do but troll. It's pathetic, really, but most of all it's just not worth our time.

As for the game... disappointing, certainly. I'm trying not to get too worked up since once we lost Game 3, it was all but a foregone conclusion that this series was over. If you had asked us back on April 3 if we'd be happy to lose in the conference finals, I'm pretty sure we'd give an honest "yes."

[Dale Hunter]

Anyone know the Flyers tee times for tomorrow?

And how many seasons total has it been since the last Philadelphia championship?

I'll be back during football season when the Redskins play the Eagles.

[Kulp]

I don't know if happy is the right word when it describes the reaction to any kind of losing, even in the Conference Finals.

However they certainly exceeded my expectations. I knew this was a greatly improved club, but I honestly didn't give them a chance to to any damage in the playoffs. The rest of the NHL will definitely be on notice next season because this team is going to compete.

[Benjamin]

First off, this team had the worst team in franchise history last year, and played in the conference championship this year. That's remarkable. At least the Flyers didn't need to tank their seasons over and over like the Pens to get back into form. All they needed was their superior general management to make things happen, and if this year was the conference championship, then there is no reason to think for a second they can't make the necessary moves to be the best next season.

Today, the Flyers played terrible. Very disappointing. Nevertheless, why do the officials take 4 seconds to wave off our only goal?

The penguins have talent, and you can't deny that, but there are two things that bother me. Sidney just needs to shut up and play the game. His non-stop whining is an embarrassment. Malkin disgusts me. He does things on the ice that has no place in Hockey. Taking the butt of his stick to Briere's head in a skate by is disgusting. Slewing a Ranger at the end of a game repeatedly is disgusting. You can be talented, but let your talent do the talking, not your Bush league tactics. The league should do a better job of hiding their infatuation with Crosby. Even if they aren't going out of their way to help him out, the way they advertise and talk about him provides the national audience a reason to believe they are. The league may think they're helping the game out by trying to develop interest in Hockey again, but they are actually turning the national audience against the league.

Thank you Flyers. You did a more than admirable job in getting back into top form, proving you are a top contending team for the cup, and I have zero doubts that the Flyers will be back again next year for more. The GM knows what the team needs, and knows how to make the moves. Free Agents know how good the Flyers were, and how close they are, and that will provide the off-season firepower to bring the players in.

LET's GO FLYERS!!

[Kulp]

Dale, you're not going to be around when the Phillies play the Nationals?

[joe l]

The Nats can't even get the trolls out to their games, Kulp.

[GreggyD]

This Flyers team far exceeded my expectations. Of course I didn't want to see them lose, but I am proud of what this team did in the off-season, and how they translated those moves and spent money into wins. It's not easy going from the deepest part of the cellar to one step away from reaching the light. I am excited for another good off-season this year.

As for the Finals which will most likely be Detroit-Pittsburgh, it is good for the league because these two teams can play, but I passionately hate both of these squads. However, Pittsburgh just really irks something inside of me, and it pains me to say it, but I hope Hockeytown brings in another title.

[Benjamin]

Can anyone explain to me why Biron, who was the "hot" goalie against the Caps (with the leagues hands down best player), and the Canadiens (the biggest offensive depth in hockey), is somehow incapable of getting the Flyers to the cup? I don't understand some people's logic who think he doesn't have what it takes. In his 1st ever playoff run, he was amazing in the 1st two series. He obviously did not benefit from defensive losses early this series, and it's a shame he had such a long break after playing at the top of his game against the canadiens. Give him his credit, because he deserves it. But then again, I'm sure it was Dale who said he stinx, so I probably shouldn't be getting bothered by it.

[Displaced Philadelphian]

What we have here is a person desperately craving any type of attention. I realize that this post feeds into that, but it's nice to point out desperate cries for acknowledgment as compared to intelligent dialogue with fans from other teams.

By the way, the Nationals game is easily going to be 80% Phillies fans. I've heard more people express interest in the new stadium up in Philly than down here by a pretty wide margin. I take it, with his seeming level of commitment to Philly hate, that our intrepid young DC lad will be the lone Nats fan in the stadium.

[Weapon X20]

Gee Dale, the Caps really showed up today too... except it was one of those off season golf seminars with Jack Nicklaus, and it had nothing to do with hockey, kinda like every day of the Caps live until september. Come back when the redskins play the Birds, if your this shitty with your hockey predictions, I can't wait to see how bad you are with Football.

we gave it a hell of a run, and I couldn't be happier with this season (unless of course, we got a Cup). But they had to put up with a lot of bullshit, from the league, the refs and the media. Overall I'm disappointed, but I'm Happy, Go Phils!

[TH]

Can someone answer me these two questions:

1 - Isn't it illegal to take someone's stick away from them?

2 - Isn't it a penalty to hit the goalie in the trapezoid?

Not that any of that mattered, since the Pens pwnt us the rest of the game. I'm just wondering.

Anyway, before we crown the Wings, let's wait until they put Dallas away. No matter who wins, it should be a good series. Go Stars.

[dale hunter's brother]

philly suckkks