Price, as Flyers fans remember fondly, is the 20-year-old Montreal goalie undone by the Flyers' crash-the-net tactics in the semifinals. When Price was pulled after the second period of Game 3, the Flyers knew they were deep inside his head, and it was just a matter of time until they wrapped up the series.

Flyers winger R.J. Umberger has had his share of duels with Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, going back to their days in the American Hockey League. He's never seen him better.

"It's probably the most confidence I've seen in him from the AHL until now," Umberger said yesterday after the Flyers tuned up for Game 2 tonight at Mellon Arena. "I've played against him quite a bit now, and I think it's the best I've seen him play. He's moving side-to-side real quick right now."

Lost amid the pyrotechnics of the brilliant Evgeni Malkin, Fleury was poised and athletic in the Penguins' 4-2 win Friday night, stopping 26 shots. One of the more memorable was a glove save on Jeff Carter that prevented the Flyers from pulling within a goal early in the third period.

What must be disconcerting for the Flyers is that there is evidence the Pens' goalie isn't on some magic-carpet ride bound to crash-land any time now. The 23-year-old Fleury has a 1.78 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in 10 playoff games. He's won his last 16 starts on home ice.

Fleury's playoff success is an extension of his outstanding play since he returned from a high ankle sprain on Feb. 28, after he'd missed 28 games. In the 24 games since, including playoffs, he's 19-3-1 and has allowed more than two goals only four times.

"Right now, he's playing his best hockey since he's been in the National Hockey League," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

The Penguins expected excellence from Fleury when they traded up with Florida to make him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft. Despite their reputation as an explosive offensive team, the Penguins have developed an appreciation for keeping opponents off the scoreboard.

"I think since the beginning of the year, the team just kept improving on the defensive game," Fleury said. "The defense is doing a great job blocking shots and getting the rebounds and carrying them away. And the forwards always come back hard and help out in our zone."

If the Flyers are to throw Fleury off his game, they'll have to jostle him as they did Price. Penguins defensemen Ryan Whitney said the Flyers created more traffic in front of the net in Game 1 than they'd seen in their previous two series.

Asked if Fleury can be rattled, Umberger said, "I think any goalie can be. We're going to try as hard as we can to do it. He's in a zone and nothing seems to be fazing him."