After being beaten up and down the ice in Game 5 and falling behind 2-0 despite having played well in the first period of Game 6, the Penguins buckled down and defeated their cross state rivals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Things would get worse before they got better though.

Knuble (2) and Lupul (1) both beat Fleury in the first period and Briere (1) added a power play goal early in the second to extend the Flyers lead to 3-0. But Fedotenko (1) and the Penguins answered right back scoring 0:29 later to make it 3-1. Eaton (2) added another goal two minutes later to make it 3-2. Eaton swatted the puck out of mid air in front of Biron with the shaft of his stick and then into the net and already has two goals in the playoffs for a defenseman now known for his scoring prowess. But as the saying goes, good things happen when you stand in front of the net.

Crosby (3) then evened the score late in the second, also batting a puck out of the air and behind Biron who began to look like the goal tender the Penguins spanked in Game 1. The Penguins mustered an amazing 20 shots on net in the period.

In the third it was Sergei Gonchar (1) at 2:19 that put the Penguins up for good with a long shot that found the upper corner of the net and Crosby (4) added an empty netter after several furious attempts by the Flyers to tie the game and great saves by Fleury and good defense by the Penguins.

The win earned the Penguins the right to advance to the next round against an opponent to be determined as the league awaits the results of the remaining first round games.

Let the whining begin. Philadelphia fans (and even coaches) are upset over Crosby’s goal that broke the 0-0 tie in the second period and are just generally frustrated over how they could not have won a game that they completely dominated offensively. Replays showed that Crosby’s goal was indeed a good goal, hitting off his stick and then his body and he was being hauled downed and then crashing into the net behind Biron. The highlight real also showed exactly why the Flyers lost and his name is Marc-Andre Fleury.

Pittsburgh also got another goal from Tyler Kennedy (2) and the empty net icing goal from Max Talbot (1) en route to taking a 3-1 series lead thanks to the Flower who was in full bloom last night staying square to the shooter and making big saves when he had to. His 45 saves on 46 shots have the Flyers befuddled and wondering how on earth they are going to win three games to take the series with the matchup returning to Pittsburgh for a 7:00 PM showdown Thursday night.

The Penguins however cannot ride Fleury like they have ridden him so far. After a complete team effort in Game 1 of the series the Penguins have put forth three either average or subpar efforts since and still managed to climb to a dominating lead in the series. Too many penalties have plagued the Pens as they have tried to match the Flyers physical play which has gotten overly aggressive at times. Penalty killing has kept them in the games as well while the power play continues to struggle.

Then Penguins want to close out the series Thursday night. They don’t want to give the Flyers and hope in their minds that they could win this series which returning to Philadelphia only down 3-2 certainly would do.

Petr Sykora, as good as he can be, is just not getting the job done. He is not finishing and not getting time on the power play which is where many of his goals come from.

Is he hurt? He and the team are mum. But he is playing like a man protecting himself. He is playing hard at times but something is off and not right.

Miroslav Satan, who was the odd man out back at the trade deadline, sits as a healthy scratch. It is time to give him a shot to play. Maybe not on Malkin’s line, but somewhere and give Sykora a chance to either rest his unannounced injury or think about what he needs to do to be worthy of playing on a team so stacked with talent that no player’s role should be safe if they slack.

Satan didn’t deserve to be sent to the minors. He was playing well. But he had to go to clear cap room. It is time to reward him for taking it like a pro and get his shot back in the lineup.

After the Penguins clinched a playoff birth on Tuesday with their win over Tampa Bay, they could have just looked past the New York Islanders. But with playoff positioning still to be determined they did not. The game last night saw Mathieu Garon in net instead of Fluery and the return of Philippe Boucher to the lineup against the lowly Islanders.

Boucher was obviously overwhelmed in his first shift starting the game and quickly was replaced on the ice after several fumbles and missteps. The Penguins as a team played sloppy as well and took two penalties in the first five minutes which lead to an early 0-1 deficit for Pittsburgh. But Boucher and the Penguins stormed back. Boucher (3) scored off a rebound and, crashing the net late in the first to tie the game and the team never looked back as they rattled off five more unanswered goals from Dupuis (12), Cooke (13), Guerin (21), Crosby (33) and lastly Misterrrrrrrrrrr Kennnnneddyyyyyyyyyyy (15) to end the scoring.

The win keeps the Penguins with an outside chance at home ice advantage in the playoffs however, for that to happen Carolina must lose their final game against New Jersey (a possibility) and Philadelphia must do no better than split their remaining games against the Islanders and Rangers (also possible). But the Penguins must also win Saturday against the Canadiens which would give them, if this scenario plays out, two more points than Carolina, and the either the same or two more points than Philadelphia with the Penguins holding the head to head tie-breaker.

Regardless, the Penguins have the 6th seed locked up and can drop no further. All that is left to be determined is who they will face in round one and where.

Pittsburgh had the game yesterday against Carolina literally stolen from them by the goal tending of Cam Ward as they fell to the Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime. Believe it or not, despite really needing the win to have a strong chance at sneaking up into 4th place in the East, knowing this is the reason they lost is a good thing. It is good because I will tell you this much; if the Penguins continue to play like they have since the month of March started and like they also played yesterday, I do not think there is a single goal tender in the league right now and that they will face in the playoffs that can best them 4 out of seven games in a series.

Now they will have to dig down deep and beat the Panthers today to work towards locking up a post season birth. Florida will be desperate because heading into today’s game they are on the outside looking in and two points back of the eighth place Rangers.

All the Penguins have to do is play the same way they played yesterday and hope they do not get robbed again by another goal tenders and they can be well on the way to the playoffs after 60 minutes of hockey today.

The Penguins can sympathize with the New Jersey Devils who can’t seem to win a game as of late. The Penguins went thought a similar, and longer, stretch like that earlier this season. But that doesn’t mean that the Penguins would show the Devils any mercy. After a 6-1 drubbing last night at the Igloo that was all too clearly the case.

The Devils put up a fight at points during the first 20 minutes and after the Penguins stormed out to a 2-0 lead just 6:31 in to the game. Matt Cooke (11) and Bill Guerin (20) each scored 36 seconds apart to make that score happen. The Devils got a goal from Gionta (19) midway through the frame to halve that lead but it was all the offense they would muster as the Penguins added another first period goal from Malkin (24) and tallies from Crosby (30), Staal (21) and Kunitz (23) to put New Jersey out of their misery. Fleury made 24 saves and the Penguins once again nearly chased Brodeur from the net. It appeared the only reason he remained in goal was just to not allow the Penguins the joy of knowing that they had gotten to him yet again.

The victory propelled the Penguins (42-27-8, 92 pts) over Carolina in to 5th place in the East and just behind Philadelphia who also has 92 points but a game in hand. Had the Penguins beaten the Flyers last month when the two squared off at the Igloo they would be ahead of them. Pittsburgh won the season series against the Flyers 4-2 and holds an important tie breaker in the standings.

The problem for the Penguins is that despite their incredible streak heading into the playoffs they have failed to separate themselves from the pack in the bottom half of the east and hold a mere 5 point cushion over 9th place Florida whom they play on Sunday. But first they have a showdown with Carolina which can help keep them in 5th place. A loss would mean falling behind the Hurricanes and back into at least 6th.