The history behind Penguins vs. Flyers

by Hooks Orpik on Apr 13, 2009 12:39 PM EDT in News Comment 17 comments

Starting with the most recent matchups first, let's look back at Pittsburgh v. Philadelphia throughout the years.

2008: Pittsburgh defeats Philadelphia 4 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals

Player of the series: Marian Hossa (4 goals, 5 assists)

--Say what you will about Hossa, but give the devil his due, he was great that series. Sidney Crosby, public enemy #1 in Philly, was no slouch either with two goals and five assists against the black and orange.

Number of players that will play in 2009 that played in 2008 for Philly: 11 (Briere, Carter, Coburn, Hartnell, Jones, Lupul, Parent, Richards, Timonen plus goalie Biron)

Number of players that will play in 2009 that played in 2008 for Pittsburgh: 13 (Crosby, Dupuis, Gill, Gonchar, Kennedy, Letang, Malkin, Orpik, Scuderi, Staal, Sykora, Talbot plus goalie Fleury)

2000: Philadelphia defeats Pittsburgh 4-2 in the second round of the Eastern conference playoffs

Series recap: Philadelphia was the top seed in the East that season, and rocked through the Buffalo Sabres in five games in the opening round. For the Pens part they came in as the #7 seed and they cast aside the Capitals aside in five games in the first round.

The Pens took the first two games of the series in Philadelphia, powered by Jaromir Jagr. But Philly would strike back winning Game 3 in OT, and then in Game 4 Keith Primeau's goal in the 5OT longest playoff game in NHL history that really broke the Pens back. The Pens would go on to lose the next two games by a combined 8-4.

The next round, you might recall, pitted the Flyers against the Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals. This was the infamous series that saw Scott Stevens literally TKO Eric Lindros and end his Flyers career.

Interesting fact: Two players from the 2000 Pens/Flyers series are expected to play in the 2009 Pens/Flyers series. They are Simon Gagne and Mark Eaton (Flyer in 2000, Penguin in 2009). Both, coincidentally, missed the 2008 playoff series due to injuries.

1997: Philadelphia defeats Pittsburgh 4-1 in the first round of the Eastern conference playoffs

This, you might remember, was the first season Mario Lemieux announced retirement. The Pens came into the playoffs as the 6th seed, and despite having a lot of top tier offensive talent (Lemieux, Jagr, Ron Francis) didn't have much of a well-rounded team and were overwhelmed by the much deeper Philadelphia team.

Philly would go all the way to the Stanley Cup finals this season, before Detroit unceremoniously swept them in the Finals.

Interesting fact: The Pens big three combined to score 8 goals and 17 points in the five game series...The rest of the team combined for just 5 goals and 17 points.

1989: Philadelphia defeats Pittsburgh 4-3 in the Patrick Division finals

Mario Lemieux set a franchise record by scoring nine goals in a single series, but it wasn't enough to take the Pens past the Flyers in the first ever post-season meeting of the cross-state rivals. Philly's joy would be shortlived, however, as they lost the next round to Montreal.

Interesing fact: The final score of game five in this series was 10-7 Penguins. Lemieux (pre-cancer and pre-back surgery) scored 5 goals and added on 3 assists in this contest. Unreal.

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1)You probably would recall better, but didn’t the Flyers go into that series last season missing a few of their top D-men?
2) This and the other state battle(california) should be the best 1st round matchups for fan appeal!

by Fauxrumors on Apr 13, 2009 2:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I think it was Timmonen who was out with a clot in his leg and Coburn had an injury as well. Don’t remember the exact two guys but I do remember them being down two d-men.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Apr 13, 2009 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Coburn took a nasty puck to the eye (I believe from Sergei Gonchar’s shot) and only played Games 1 and 2 as the swelling was so bad.

Timonen missed the first four games of the series from a blood clot in his leg.

That was their first pairing defense and a big blow to them. But hockey’s a team sport and the rest of the team was outclassed by the Pens to the combined series score of 20-9 over the five games.

by Hooks Orpik on Apr 13, 2009 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I typically try to spend as little time as possible thinking about the Pen’s history against the Flyers. But, I believe the times they are achangin’.

by PensFan024 on Apr 13, 2009 3:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Flyers were also without Gagne and (if I recall correctly) Briere. This will be a different series from last year.

Wow, that recap sure brought back some memories. I fell asleep on the couch during the 5OT game, and woke up in a daze in the early AM hours. Took me a few minutes before I realized I was watching the live game on TV, rather than a late-night highlights show.

And I remember that 1989 game. That was the season the Pens began to break through as a legit team: making the playoffs for the first time in my memory, and winning a game in Philadelphia after losing about 1600 straight games at the Spectrum (note: all figures are approximate). Game 5 was one of Lemieux’s all-time great games; as I recall Tim Kerr had a natural hat trick in that game as well. Though the best memory from that postseason is still Ron Hextall’s insane attack on Chris Chelios in the waning moments of the conference finals.

P is for Latrobe.

by holiday park on Apr 13, 2009 5:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nah, the Flyers had Briere, he was just invisible.

Swing by The Flyer Frequent. You have nothing better to do.

by Ben Rothenberg on Apr 14, 2009 7:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, he is really, really tiny.

P is for Latrobe.

by holiday park on Apr 14, 2009 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

That game in 2000 was unreal. These two teams have played in some great series and I would expect this one to be added to the list.

by pretty boy floyd on Apr 13, 2009 5:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There’s always an added spark in an in-state match up. The crowd will be that much louder with the game meaning that much more.

Can’t wait for this series to be added to this list.

PensBurgh penalty - Lavender - 2 minutes for hijynxing.

by Lavender on Apr 13, 2009 5:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Born to hate Philly!

89 – The first ever hockey game I ever attended was the game where Lemieux scored 5 goals and three assists to lead the Pens past the Flyers 10-7. I remember vividly that my father, now deseased, told me to savor this moment for you will never see a performace like this again in your life! You know what, he was right. I think that is why I am such a Pens fan to this day. Not just becuase I love hockey, but because one of the greatest moments with my father occured at that game.

00 – that series cost me a case of beer when I was in college. I remember the Pens won the first two games, on the road in Philly. I grew up remembering that Pittsburgh never wins in Philly so I was so excited. That excitement faded with the overtime losses. Especially that 5 OT game. I watched it at a bar at IUP and they stayed open past 2 to let us watch the game. After the 4th OT though they had to close and my place didn’t have cable to I had to go to a friends car and listen to Primeau break our hearts in the back seat of an 89 Chevy Cavalier. Ah, the memories!

Life is about one simple choice, get busy living or get busy dying

by Dr Tre on Apr 14, 2009 9:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Flyers Fan here

Flyers and Pens have had some brutal battles in the past… I’m looking forward to a great series and perhaps a memorable finish. It’ll go 7 games probably… and yes, the flyers are healthy for the most part, ryan parent is day to day, but he’ll be ok… so there will no excuses, may the best team win…

briere is no longer in our top line, in the third line yet totally visible playing with the flashy young Giroux, so not like last year, he might be a difference maker… might be more of a challenge for the pens to try and stop three scoring lines in comparison to the malkin/sid show… i like matt cooke though, you want a guy like that on your team.

anyway, good luck everyone… sucks games are on versus and nbc

by fitzy first on Apr 14, 2009 11:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

flyers fan, pitt student

crosbys gonna be tough to stop especially when he catches carle on ice, hes probably our weakest d-man in terms of turnovers. i really think alot of pens fans don’t realize just how deep our offense is now compared to last season, we can put up goals, it’s just gonna come down to a “keep it on” style of play, if the flyers don’t come out guns blazing it’ll be penguins in 6. going to game 4 tuesday night, should be an awesome series.

by kolparty on Apr 14, 2009 1:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I definitely grasp how deep that offense runs. Six 25-goal scorers is nothing to take lightly. Jeff Carter surprised everyone this year and a healthy Simon Gagne makes him a comeback player candidate, no doubt. Last year the Pens capitalized on a weak D. This year I think we’ll see a lot of defensive pairings matching up with whatever and whoever the Pens send out on the ice. Crosby likely won’t have many chances to take advantage of Carle but if the opportunity is there (ie. puck in Flyers’ zone and Sid jumps on the ice) then I hope to see him make the most of it.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Apr 14, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

no surprise

jeff carter didnt surprise me and probably a lot of other flyer fans. if you watched him last year on the third line, he was definitely inline for a break out year this year moving up on the depth chart… last year- briere as a top line center was a two-way joke.

by fitzy first on Apr 14, 2009 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fitzy, we all knew carter was talented and a heck of a player, that was no surprise. i think what frank meant (which i echo) is that the surprise came when cater could go a full season and score 46 goals (good enough for 2nd in the league). not a lot of people saw that coming out of him this season, but good for him, it’s definitely no fluke.

by Hooks Orpik on Apr 14, 2009 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Outside of the fact that I hate the Flyers, it really is a shame one of these teams has to leave in the first round. Both teams roll three lines that can score and both teams play a physical brand of hockey. Absolutely right kolparty this should be awesome.

by PensFan024 on Apr 14, 2009 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome to the Flyers fans. Can’t wait for this series. Obviously we want to beat you guys, but we all want to win here. May the best team win, and may all the games be fantastic.

P is for Latrobe.

by holiday park on Apr 14, 2009 9:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs