The Penguins-Flyers rivalry has always been a fierce, competitive, and sometimes combatant one. However, over the past two seasons, the rivalry has reached a new high. With each team sending a strong young core to the ice, the rivalry has become the best in all of hockey. Their playoff series last spring only heightened the bad blood between these two in-state rivals. In this lockout-shortened season, the Flyers and Penguins have now faced twice and have split the two games. Last night's 6-5 thriller had a playoff feel to it, with both teams coming back from two goal deficits before Jakob Voracek sealed the win for the Flyers.
After being down 2-0, the Flyers looked to be defeated. The Penguins offensive skill was helping them control the game and the Flyers seemed to be a team that just did not have enough skill to keep up and on paper, the Penguins probably are the better team. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and James Neal are on a tear and nearly impossible to beat, yet somehow, the Flyers keep finding ways to do so. The Flyers are simply outworking the Penguins physically and it has become a mental issue for the Penguins. In last year's playoff games, the Penguins opened Games 1 and 2 with commanding leads, but both times the Flyers fought back. Again last night, the Penguins were dominating the game, but the Flyers scrappy play got them back into the game. The Flyers have now established a huge psychological edge, and both teams now understand that any Pittsburgh lead is not safe. Flyers Coach Peter Laviollete has established a "never give up" attitude in his men that has the Penguins wondering what more they have to do to come out on top.
Anytime the Flyers go down early, all the pressure shifts towards the Penguins. Each time they begin to lose a lead, the games begin to turn sloppy, which works right into how the Flyers like to play. The Flyers are a team that dominates once they gain a bit of momentum, which is why Laviollete stresses the importance of just getting the first goal. The Penguins offensive skill is as good as it gets in the National Hockey League, but without this mental edge, they will have a tough time in any game versus the Flyers.
