Posted on Fri, May. 9, 2008
Flyers Notes
PITTSBURGH -
Sidney Crosby has not forgotten losing three teeth, courtesy of defenseman
Derian Hatcher's high stick, during his rookie year in the NHL.
Or the fact that Hatcher will renew hostilities with the Pittsburgh Penguins' captain during the Eastern Conference finals against the Flyers, which begin tonight.
"It's always a great challenge playing against him," Crosby said yesterday. "He's obviously a big guy and takes up a lot of space out there. But I think you look forward to those challenges with any defensive pairing you play with. I mean, I don't think personally I'd try to change anything.
"I haven't felt like I've had to change anything when I've played against him more so when I play against any other guys. So for me, I'm not trying to try to change anything. He's obviously a big guy, he's strong, and you have to find ways to get around him."
Hatcher said yesterday that he will again try to get under Crosby's skin.
"I think that's good for us, whether he's yelling at the referees, or trying to hit someone," Hatcher said.
Holmgren's slogan
Flyers coach
John Stevens and some of the Flyers wore black T-shirts with "Why Not Us!" in orange across the front. Stevens said the slogan came from general manager
Paul Holmgren.
"It's kind of fitting now," Stevens said. "Coming out of the Montreal series, it was more about why they lost. Same with Washington. Why not us? The message hits home because it's been about us down the stretch."
The Penguins' mission
Most of the talk in this series has been about what the Flyers have to do to stop the Penguins - which means curtailing Crosby and
Evgeni Malkin. Yesterday, the question was flip-flopped. What does Pittsburgh have to do to stop the Flyers?
"Their power play has been really successful during the regular season and during the playoffs," said Pens coach
Michel Therrien. "You know we're expecting it's going to be an emotional series from our side and from their side. I think we're going to have to control our emotion. I think discipline's going to be more important than being overemotional and hurt the team. . . .
"We're going to have to pay attention to our discipline, because they've got the power play. Guys like
[Danny] Briere can score big goals, big-time goals. There's
[Mike] Richards . . . a good player on both sides of the ice. [Goalie]
Martin Biron did a fantastic job in the playoffs so far to help them to be where they are right now."
Jones emerges
Flyers defenseman
Randy Jones is quietly having a solid postseason. Paired with Hatcher, the 26-year-old Jones has a team-best plus-8 in the plus/minus category. Stevens has used him to kill penalties and on the second power-play unit.
"He's not one of those guys who shows up on the offensive stat sheet, but he's one of those guys who makes tape-to-tape passes, and he can initiate an attack," Stevens said. "And he's a good team guy. He's matured this year. Now he's at a level where he's a consistently good player."
Shero's take
Pittsburgh general manager
Ray Shero, in his second season with the Pens, was an assistant GM with Nashville since the Predators were born in 1998. He was also responsible in part for the drafting of current Flyers
Scottie Upshall and
Scott Hartnell, as well as the acquisition of
Kimmo Timonen for the Predators.
Timonen will not play in the playoffs because of a blood clot in his left ankle.
"Kimmo probably, no disrespect to anybody else, might be their top defenseman," Shero said.
"Scotty Hartnell, we drafted him when he was just 18 years old in Nashville. He had a slow start, but he's played great hockey the second half of the year for them. He plays an honest game. He's a hard guy to play against.
"Scottie Upshall had an up-and-down year, but he's got great speed and he plays a role for them right now. He's back in the lineup, doing a great job, and was a real factor in that series against Montreal. All three guys have added a lot to their team this year. Give credit to [Flyers GM] Paul Holmgren for acquiring all three."
Friendly wager
Democratic Congressmen
Bob Brady, who represents parts of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, and
Mike Doyle, who represents most of Pittsburgh, have a wager on the series. If the Flyers win, Doyle must wear a Flyers jersey on the floor of the House of Representatives and treat Brady to some Pittsburgh food.
If the Pens win, Brady must wear their jersey and send Doyle a cheesesteak.
- Tim Panaccio and Ray Parrillo
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