Will the loss of frontline blue-liner Kimmo Timonen be one more thing the Flyers overcome? Or will this be the setback that really sets this surprising contender back?

You are excused if you are coming to the Flyers a little late. There have been plenty of reasons not to pay attention to this team. There was the disastrous NHL lockout that closed the league for the 2004-05 season. Then there was the Flyers' own disastrous 2006-07 season, when they were the worst team in the league.

So there are surely plenty of fans who will tune in for the first time now that the Flyers are one round away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

The bad news: You missed two wildly entertaining series against the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens.

The good news: The Flyers have come together as one of those special teams that are better than the sum of their parts. That is why they have thrived without Simon Gagne, their best pure scorer going into the season, and why they have a chance to survive the loss of Timonen, their shutdown defenseman.

It was not so very long ago that the Flyers were in this very position. Four years ago, they took the Tampa Bay Lightning to Game 7 of the conference finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champs.

If that was your most recent Flyers memory, you are in for a bit of culture shock. Remember how that team was led by Keith Primeau and Eric Desjardins and Jeremy Roenick and goaltender Robert Esche? Don't look for any of those guys when the puck hits the ice tonight. Don't look for Mark Recchi or Michal Hanzus or, well, Marcus Ragnarsson.

Indeed, Sami Kapanen is the only Flyer who played in that 2004 conference final who will play in this one. That's one holdover after just four years. That's an incredible amount of turnover, even in the post-lockout NHL.

The lesson there is pretty obvious. As nice as it is to talk about this young team as a work in progress, as a group that is further along than expected at this point, the reality is that nothing is promised. Every team is unique, and there is no way to predict who will be here and who will be gone in 2009, 2010 or beyond.

So: They've come this far. They might as well go ahead and try to win this thing.

Their opponent is in a similar position. The Penguins are a wonderfully balanced squad, with superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin supported by a solid defense, a good goaltender, and enough toughness to keep opponents honest. But they're also the Penguins, and they will have a tough time holding on to all of that talent as contracts become bigger. Crosby has a long, brilliant career ahead of him, but he can't be sure he'll ever have a better chance to win the Stanley Cup.

The stakes are high. Passions will run higher. It figures to be a great series.

So you should know these Flyers.

Marty Biron, with his shaggy playoff beard and piercing blue eyes, has been the best Flyers playoff goaltender since Ron Hextall, for sure, or Bernie Parent, which is worth discussing. Biron has been terrific.

Danny Briere, the regular-season enigma, has responded to the bright lights and postseason pressure by scoring the prettiest goals and delivering the smoothest passes.

Mike Richards? He's the Flyers' Chase Utley - more interested in playing hard and with respect for the game than in talking about it. He's a leader by sheer force of his personality.

Scottie Upshall wears No. 9, which once belonged to Bob "The Hound" Kelly. It is a fitting homage, because Upshall hits the ice the way Kelly once did, at full speed and intent on outhustling and outpestering the other guy.

Scott Hartnell looks like a member of those '70s Flyers, with his mop of curly hair and his easy grin. Somewhere, Don "Big Bird" Saleski and "Cowboy" Bill Flett are smiling.

Jeff Carter exudes California cool, yet he plays with a tenacity that borders on the savage. Carter has created more good shots for himself, by forcing turnovers and beating his opponents the other way, than Allen Iverson on a good day.

Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher, the aging defensemen, are playing hard and playing hurt and never complaining.

Braydon Coburn looks as if he could be the Flyers' best defenseman since Mark Howe. The absence of his partner, Timonen, will make his performance even more vital.

There are four teams playing for the Cup. The Flyers are one of them. Welcome to the show.

for columnist Phil Sheridan

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