Flyers-Penguins Game 3 Preview

After the wild, back-and-forth battle between the two teams Friday night in Pittsburgh that ended with an 8-5 Flyers win, the Flyers and Penguins bring the series back to Philadelphia this afternoon at 3:00 EDT, televised on NBC. The Flyers lead the series 2-0 after taking both of the games in the Consol Energy Center. Here’s a preview of this afternoon’s game at the Wells Fargo Center:

Injury News:
For the Penguins, defenseman Matt Niskanen (knee) has been upgraded from doubtful to day-to-day and is questionable for this afternoon’s game. If he plays, he will most likely replace Ben Lovejoy or Deryk Engelland on the Penguins’ defense. For the Flyers, Marc-Andre Bourdon remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will most likely miss Game 3. James van Riemsdyk (foot) skated with the team at practice yesterday for the first time since his injury. Tom Sestito (groin) also skated with the team, but Andrej Meszaros (back) did not. There is still no official timetable for returns for any of them, though.

Projected Line Combinations (listed left to right):
Flyers:
Hartnell-Giroux-Jagr
Schenn-Briere-Simmonds
Talbot-Couturier-Voracek
Wellwood-Read-Rinaldo

Penguins:
Neal-Malkin-Kunitz
Sullivan-Crosby-Dupuis
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Adams-Vitale-Asham

Projected Defensive Pairings:
Flyers:
Carle-Timonen
Grossmann-Coburn
Lilja-Kubina

Penguins:
Martin-Letang
Orpik-Michalek
Lovejoy-Engelland

The Flyers and Penguins both start their #1 goalies, Ilya Bryzgalov and Marc-Andre Fleury, in Game 3 of the series despite inconsistency from both, particularly by Fleury in Game 2.

3 Keys to the Game:
1) Energy Level
The Flyers and Penguins enter this game at opposite ends of the spectrum. This was the Flyers’ dream scenario: taking both games in Pittsburgh and coming home with a chance to sweep the series. For the Penguins, this was their nightmare: need to beat the Flyers at least once in Philly to have a chance to win the series. It’s important for the Flyers that they stay hungry despite their lead in the series. They’ve won games 1 and 2 by getting to loose pucks and outhustling and outworking the Penguins. Even though today is virtually a must-win for the Penguins and the Flyers can afford to lose today, they must match the Penguins’ desperation if they want to win. If the Flyers can keep pace with the Penguins’ energy levels, they’ll win the game.

2) Penguins Defense
The Penguins defense, aside from superstar Kris Letang, has not been very good so far in the series. They only blocked 5 shots Friday night, an incredible poor statistic. Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t played up to snuff this series, but he’s not getting any help from his defense. They need to worry more about the defensive side of the ice rather than getting involved offensively. When the Penguins possess the puck in the neutral zone or offensive zone, they’re one of the most formidable teams in the league. In their own zone, however, they don’t even look like a playoff team. The Flyers are getting good chances due to poor defensive play and if that continues the Penguins might not be around in the postseason for much longer.

3) Get the Top Line Going
While Claude Giroux had a 6 point performance on Friday night, the top line of Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, and Jaromir Jagr has not been good as a unit. Hartnell had the assist on Brayden Schenn’s game-tying PPG in Game 1 and Jaromir Jagr scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in Game 2, but the 3 haven’t been working together as well as they did in the regular season. The Penguins’ top 2 lines are always a threat to score, and have consistently peppered Ilya Bryzgalov with shots. During the regular season, Hartnell, Giroux, and Jagr worked together in perfect harmony to lead the Flyers’ offense. They need to create chances as a group in Game 3 and beyond. If the top line combines for 2 goals, the Flyers will take a 3-0 lead in the series.

Prediction:
Penguins 5, Flyers 4. Maybe I’m crazy to keep picking against the Flyers, but I find it hard to believe that the Penguins will fall behind 3-0 in this series. I’ll say that Ilya Bryzgalov has a subpar performance today and Marc-Andre Fleury will make the saves he needs to in order to earn a win. I think today the Penguins get an early lead and hold on to it, as the Flyers never lead in this game. The Penguins will win this game to make this a series again and set up a crucial Game 4 in Philadelphia. Hopefully I’m wrong, and enjoy the game. Go Flyers!