So far this series we've seen a combined total of 63 penalties called - roughly 16 per game. The margin between teams isn't all that wide either. Philly has been called for more penalties (34) than Pitt (29) for a difference of only four, while the power play chances remain just slightly in favor of the Penguins (25 to Philly's 22). Consider the number of times a Pen has followed a Flyer to the box seconds after going on the PP and it's almost like that power play didn't exist anyway.
Up until last night's game both teams managed to score at least one goal with the man advantage.
| PIT | PHI | |
| Game 1 | 1-8 | 1-4 |
| Game 2 | 2-5 | 1-4 |
| Game 3 | 1-7 | 1-6 |
| Game 4 | 0-5 | 0-8 |
Pitt is basically converting at a rate of one goal per six chances while Philly is just slightly off at one for every seven. In the PP rankings of playoff teams the Pens come in at sixth (16%) and the Flyers eighth (13.6%). On the PK they rank ninth and eleventh, respectively.
Given the obvious offensive threats on both teams, are you at all flattered by these numbers? Last night sure left a lot of "maybe this time" comments flowing through both threads.
Heading into the series I didn't expect to see a ton of goals on the PP, although admittedly felt Philly may have had the upper hand in that category (come on, we've all seen Pitt on the PP this year). Maybe credit has to go toward both teams' PK units for turning this into more of a 5-on-5 series, or in some cases 4-on-4.
You also can't forget the big penalty killers as well - Marc-Andre Fleury and Marty Biron. Last night both goalies shut the door on the PK and looked just about as solid as you'd hope, or in Biron's case dread, them to be.
