Flyers Notes

PITTSBURGH - Looking at the numbers, the Flyers and Penguins have some similarities, including their prowess on the power play.

It's likely more than one game in this Eastern Conference final series will be decided on special teams. The Flyers scored four clutch power-play goals against Montreal in the semifinals and finished the series 4 for 14 (28.6 percent).

But they were 0 for 3 in Game 1 on Friday against the Penguins and gave up a rare shorthanded goal to Evgeni Malkin.

"They came really hard at us," Flyers center Danny Briere said. "Not that it surprised us. We knew about it, but we just weren't able to settle the puck down. I think the first power play was good, but after that, the next two we just couldn't get the puck settled down to kind of get in our position."

Malkin's shorthanded goal hurt.

"Obviously, the turnover and the goal Malkin scored, that was a key goal in the game," Briere said. "That's a big turnover. When your power play is out there, supposed to score, and they end up getting one, that's a big low to your team."

Added Penguin

Center Maxime Talbot may return to the Pittsburgh lineup tonight after missing three games with an ankle sprain. A solid checker, Talbot had a goal and an assist in the playoffs before he was injured.

"It was good to see him get back," Pens defenseman Ryan Whitney said. "He's a big part of this team, and his return will be good for us."

This time of year, coaches are coy about who's in and who's out. Penguins coach Michel Therrien said Talbot would be evaluated at today's skate-around.

"We're going to sit down with him and see how he feels," Therrien said. "But it's nice to see him back practicing with the boys."

Bad moves

Goalie Marty Biron, who has been sensational in the playoffs, made a careless wraparound of the puck in the opening period, and it ended up in the net, courtesy of Sidney Crosby.

"I made a bad play on the second goal," he said. "I think that gave them momentum. The Malkin goal with six seconds left is another one that I'm not really happy about. . . . They got the momentum, and they start just shutting things down. It was tough to get anything going after that."

Propaganda

One Pittsburgh columnist wrote yesterday that the Penguins could win the series in three games, a remark that irritated some of the Flyers. What was coach John Stevens' reaction?

"I was more upset that the [TSN] monkey didn't pick us," Stevens said.

Loose pucks

Briere and Jeff Carter were a combined 1 for 7 against the Penguins' Jordan Staal on face-offs. . . . Jim Dowd won 4 of 5 face-offs (80 percent) against Staal, Crosby, Adam Hall and Ryan Malone. . . . Jaroslav Modry, playing for the first time since the Washington series because of the injury to defenseman Kimmo Timonen (blood clot/foot), clocked 17 minutes of ice time.

- Tim Panaccio
and Ray Parrillo