Eastern Conference Finals Preview

The Eastern Conference final features a favorite in the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with a dark horse in the sixth ranked Philadelphia Flyers. This match up is extremely tough to call and could easily go seven games. We all know that regular season results don’t translate into similar results in the playoffs, so I’ll avoid any regular season comparisons. Let’s take a look at how the teams have done thus far throughout the playoffs and how they match up.

Dubbed the ‘Battle of Pensylvania’, this series features an intense rivalry between inter state teams, each of whom is stacked with big time players and colorful personalities. Lots of fans are focusing on the toughness of the Flyers, and how they will put the heat on the Pens, but Pittsburgh are no slouches when it comes to the rough stuff, so one thing we can expect is a very physical series. The Flyers had success in their first round series against the Capitals due to paying extra attention to Alexander Ovechkin. Unfortunately for the Flyers, trying to focus on just one Penguin won’t work as Pittsburgh has way too much fire power. Putting extra effort into stopping Crosby or Malkin will just open up the ice for the other Penguins superstars.

For all the talk of the high scoring, wheeling and dealing Pens, the Flyers are actually averaging more goals a game. Line one to four for the Flyers is solid, and their offense is somewhat of a poor man’s Penguins offense (which isn’t a bad thing at all). Marc-Andre Fleury has been extremely sharp throughout the first two rounds, only allowing 1.89 goals per game. The Flyers best shot will be to put lots of shots on net, and try to agitate the Pens into taking stupid penalties.

As for the Penguins superstars, they’re all pretty much on fire. Sydney Crosby is playing how a captain should in the playoffs, and unfortunately for the Flyers he has more points against them than any other team. Marian Hossa has silenced his critics with five goals and five assists including an overtime winner. Evgeni Malkin has been a serious threat an incredible playmaker, with 14 points, and 46 shots in nine games. Throw Petr Sykora and offensive defensemen Sergei Gonchar into the mix, and yes, the Penguins offense is very scary.

If someone said that Flyers forward R.J. Umberger would lead the playoffs in goals after two rounds, they’d either be deported or possibly even executed. Well, maybe not they’d just be laughed at, but Umberger has been tearing it up with his playoff leading nine goals. The rest of the Flyers usual suspects are chipping in too, as Daniel Brier, Mike Richards and Vaclav Prospal all have 11 points or more.

Both teams hope their goaltenders will be able to shut the door, and both have been doing a great job so far. Marc-Andre Fleury has been the playoffs best goaltender with a save percentage of .938, and two shut outs. Martin Biron has surprised many by leading the Flyers this far. He’s been solid, but out of the four remaining goaltenders in the playoffs he’s been the worst, as he’s the only one with a goals against average over two (2.78), and the lowest save percentage (.914).

Verdict: Penguins is six. The Flyers are a good team, and will challenge the Pens better than the Senators and Rangers, but like those teams, they will struggle to deal with the Pens high scoring attack. Expect a good, hard hitting series as the battle of Pennsylvania grows more and more intense with each game.

And oh yeah, Detroit in seven. Enjoy the Conference Finals!
-Joe Osborne