1st Round: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers

[wr50l]

The only series of the whole playoff picture which is locked in and confirmed right now.

Saturday's final regular season game between these two could be a great warmup and hopefully there will be some animosity carried over from the last game and through the whole series.

I think this series is going to have a tonne of goals and it will probably come down to which goalie will put up the "1 or 2 goals against" game when it matters. A few months ago a contest between Fleury and Bryz wouldn't be a contest at all but on current form I'd expect Bryz to just edge it.

I think the Flyers will pick off one of the first two games on the road, but I wouldn't be surprised if the series goes to 2-2 by the time it is back in Pittsburgh. 1st choice: Flyers in 7 or Pens in 6 ...

 

[Berowsk]

I'm definitely nervous to face the Pens. The brawl a couple days ago really set the theme of what's to come.

I expect hardly any starters Saturday, for both teams. No matter how much I hate this team, I still respect their skill. Malkin is a dirty ass player and looks like sloth, but disliking a team because they're dirty while being a Flyers fan would be like calling another team shitty and being a Marlins fan.

 

[Ravin]

Just a fun fact that was said last night while I was watching the Pens/Rangers game.


The last time the Flyers swept the Regular season series against the Penguins...

 

Pittsburgh won the Cup

 

[Obst]

Just a fun fact that was said last night while I was watching the Pens/Rangers game.


The last time the Flyers swept the Regular season series against the Penguins...

 

Pittsburgh won the Cup

We didn't sweep the series this year

 

[Tailback U]

Should be a decent series, I think it will disappoint though because I don't expect either team to fight or be nearly as physical as some are hyping it up to be.

Pitt in 6. They're just a more complete and better team and I don't see Bryz standing on his head and stealing a series against the Pens.

 

[leaffan]

Should be a decent series, I think it will disappoint though because I don't expect either team to fight or be nearly as physical as some are hyping it up to be.

Pitt in 6. They're just a more complete and better team and I don't see Bryz standing on his head and stealing a series against the Pens.

Pitts just called up Steve McIntyre...

No one on philly is going to at the very least be mouthing off next game with that sicko in the lineup lol.

 

[wingsfan77]

Pitt in 6. They're just a more complete and better team and I don't see Bryz standing on his head and stealing a series against the Pens.

How do you figure the Penguins are a more complete and better team? The Flyers have a lot of scoring depth and a strong defense just like the Pens.

 

[Tailback U]

Pitts just called up Steve McIntyre...

No one on philly is going to at the very least be mouthing off next game with that sicko in the lineup lol.

He will probably play a total of 2 minutes each game.

How do you figure the Penguins are a more complete and better team? The Flyers have a lot of scoring depth and a strong defense just like the Pens.

Pitt is slightly better in basically every category..Just slightly, except for Penalty Kill where they are ranked 3rd in the league while Philly is ranked 16th.

But the real reason I think they are the more "complete" team is because of goaltending.

 

[wr50l]

Pens haven't defended well in weeks. The Flyers just had a 12 game "under" streak. Both teams defend in spurts.

 

[Tailback U]

Pens haven't defended well in weeks. The Flyers just had a 12 game "under" streak. Both teams defend in spurts.

Teams are expected to up their play in the playoffs. I think Pitts ceiling is higher than Philly's.

I think the Pens are better. I think they win in 6.

You think different? Say so. Post a prediction. Or shut the fuck up already you faggots.

And don't post 2 predictions ala Flyers in 7 or Pens in 6. What kind of pussy ass shit is that?

 

[Ravin]

Penguins do have a huge edge in net, as Fluery is a rock in playoffs, while the Flyers still don't have the goalie thing figured out, and please don't tell me Bryz latest play is an indication that he is "playoff ready". I still say we see Bob's at some point in this series.

I'm going with Pens in 6. With Crosby back in and scoring like 1.7 pts/game, Pittsburgh is easily the biggest offensive threat in the playoffs. Plus you also got to look at all the rookies the Flyers have going into the playoffs. It is going to catch up to them eventually, and playing a playoff schedule will do that.

 

[wingsfan77]

Plus you also got to look at all the rookies the Flyers have going into the playoffs. It is going to catch up to them eventually, and playing a playoff schedule will do that.

That's what people have been saying all year but the rookies keep producing. And really they're not asked to play huge minutes, Couturier is really the only one because he's on the 'shutdown' line and played pretty well against Malkin this year.

Flyers in 6.

 

[Ravin]

That's what people have been saying all year but the rookies keep producing. And really they're not asked to play huge minutes, Couturier is really the only one because he's on the 'shutdown' line and played pretty well against Malkin this year.

Flyers in 6.

Come on Wings, you know playoff hockey and regular season hockey are different. Look at last year. Bob's played amazing during the regular season, gets shelled in two games and the next thing you know Richards and Carter are traded. lol


Seriously though, no one has a clue how these guys will do in the playoffs. Half the Penguins team has cup rings. The other half have played in enough playoff games. Experience actually matters. Not saying it wins them the series, but when you get into those situations where you are pressing hard, you are not throwing the rookies out there.

 

[leaffan]

That's what people have been saying all year but the rookies keep producing. And really they're not asked to play huge minutes, Couturier is really the only one because he's on the 'shutdown' line and played pretty well against Malkin this year.

Flyers in 6.

The rookies haven't really done all that much outside of Matt Read.

Scott Hartnell (who every flyers fan wanted traded the last two years btw I still laugh at this) and Giroux really played a hell of a season coupled with Simmonds having a really good year.

Saying the Flyers defense is pretty good is kinda laughable to considering they are on the fringe of being a bottom 10 team in the league in goals allowed.

 

[wingsfan77]

The rookies haven't really done all that much outside of Matt Read.

Scott Hartnell (who every flyers fan wanted traded the last two years btw I still laugh at this) and Giroux really played a hell of a season coupled with Simmonds having a really good year.

Saying the Flyers defense is pretty good is kinda laughable to considering they are on the fringe of being a bottom 10 team in the league in goals allowed.

That's my point about the rookies, they're not being asked to play a ton of minutes so I'm not overly worried about them. And yes we absolutely did want Hartnell traded because outside of his 30 goal season a few years ago he did nothing but take bad penalties and fall down all the time. Even at the start of this season he was on the 4th line until the got paired with Jagr/Giroux and really turned it around.

Timonen/Coburn/Grossman is a very good top 3 although Carle and Lilja are below average and Bourdon is inconsistent. It really sucks that Meszaros is hurt or else the top 4 would be strong. Yes they have been up and down this year but a lot of goals they allowed were due to weak goaltending.

I'm don't disagree with what you guys are saying, I just think the two teams are very even.

 

[Berowsk]

Scott Hartnell (who every flyers fan wanted traded the last two years btw I still laugh at this) and Giroux really played a hell of a season coupled with Simmonds having a really good year.

C'mon man, you can't get angry at us normal Flyers fans for wanting to get rid of Hartnell who was underperforming at the time instead of our captain and leading scorer.

Ever since I've started reading CrossingBroad, I've hopped on the "Keep Hartsy" bandwagon. Dude is an awesome personality and has been absolutely amazing on the ice.... when he's not falling. There are still haters out there that like to argue that this is a fluke and we should trade him while his value is high. Those are the morons you should be laughing at.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpJON4isYPw"]Hartnell Cover Athlete.m4v - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Ravin]

Hartnell could easily be a product though of the people he plays with. Putting him on the top line with Giroux and Jagr kind of makes it easy. It is like putting Matt Cooke with Crosby. Guy scored like half his goals when he got on the line, but no one is going to call Cooke the next sniper.

 

[wr50l]

Teams are expected to up their play in the playoffs. I think Pitts ceiling is higher than Philly's.

I think the Pens are better. I think they win in 6.

You think different? Say so. Post a prediction. Or shut the fuck up already you faggots.

And don't post 2 predictions ala Flyers in 7 or Pens in 6. What kind of pussy ass shit is that?

U are 1 fuking cheeky kunt m8 i swear i'll wreck u i swear on my mum's life

 

[wingsfan77]

Hartnell could easily be a product though of the people he plays with. Putting him on the top line with Giroux and Jagr kind of makes it easy. It is like putting Matt Cooke with Crosby. Guy scored like half his goals when he got on the line, but no one is going to call Cooke the next sniper.

Absolutely, anyone playing with Giroux is going to score a bunch as long as they can finish. But Hartnell's been dominating the slot/in front of the net this season, he gets open for one-timers towards the top of the circles and has been absolutely drilling corners this year.

 

[Berowsk]

Hartnell could easily be a product though of the people he plays with. Putting him on the top line with Giroux and Jagr kind of makes it easy. It is like putting Matt Cooke with Crosby. Guy scored like half his goals when he got on the line, but no one is going to call Cooke the next sniper.

I think Hartnell is overhyped by the average fan because of his personality. Same shit as Tebow but on a much more local scale. He's all over the place, shows up at random community events and weddings. He also interacts with the crowd at games a lot, which is always fun. He's definitely a good player, but not as good as the numbers he's been putting up this season. Dude has legit no balance lol. I never wanna see him go though, he and Giroux are the only personalities left on the team from the dry island craziness with Richards/Carter/Carcillo/Leino gone.