When you are down three games to none the way the Flyers are, you have to scratch and claw your way back at every opportunity. The equation could not be any more uncomplicated: Win more faceoffs than your opponent and you end up with more puck possession, which should lead to more shots on goal. Shoot more, score more - theoretically.

The good news is that the Flyers have done reasonably well on faceoffs during this series. Overall, they have won 97 of 176 - or 18 more than the Penguins. But that advantage has not yet shown up in the only statistic that counts, in part because faceoff percentages are less important than situational play.

Hockey analyst Bill Clement observed just that prior to the series.

"[The] Flyers win some and lose some, but it is not about percentages," said Clement, the former Flyer who was highly regarded for his faceoff prowess during the Cup era. "What it comes down to is having that guy who can win the big faceoff at an important time in the game."

Given their performance this year, the Flyers have a strong core of candidates to answer that call, chief among them Vaclav Prospal and Jim Dowd. Those two, along with Mike Richards and Danny Briere, won more than 50 percent of their faceoffs during the regular season. Dowd, Richards and Jeff Carter have all won 50 percent or more in this series; only Briere has struggled, winning less than 45 percent.

According to Dowd, all potentially good things begin in the faceoff circle. "Especially if your overall game is struggling," Dowd said. "You get back to basics and it starts with faceoffs. The rest of your game picks up. I bet if you did a study of it, you would find it definitely helps."

Certain attributes are essential to excelling at faceoffs. Clement said beyond the physical tools of quickness and strength, you have to go into each faceoff with a game plan, part of which requires "an understanding of your opponent . . . the same way a pitcher has a book on a hitter." Clement added, "You begin with his strengths - how he likes to win faceoffs - and you build from there."

Clement said he approached faceoffs in the offensive zone differently from those in the defensive zone.

"If you have a faceoff in an offensive zone, you can do something with a little higher risk," said Clement, who likened play in the faceoff circle to "exploding off the line of scrimmage" in football. "The objective is to hopefully win it cleanly - and if you win it cleanly, you are going to get a scoring chance. For example, I would let [the opponent] think I was going to go for a power backhand move - which would cause him to dig in with his power more than his quickness - then when the puck is dropped, go with my quickness in another direction."

Strategy is employed somewhat less aggressively in the defensive zone. "The objective is not about winning it cleanly, but not losing it cleanly," said Clement. "That is the No. 1 goal. You cannot lose the drawn cleanly. You have to have more of a defensive mentality."

Faceoffs on either end of the ice require exceptional timing, the ability to anticipate when the linesman is going to drop the puck. "Obviously, hand-eye [coordination] is huge," said Carter, who added that each linesman is a little different. "Some get in there and drop the puck quick. Some will wait until you get set and then drop it. You have to watch his hand." Both Carter and Dowd agree that you have to "cheat" wherever you can to get an edge on the play, despite the fact early movement can get you tossed out of the faceoff circle.

"Whenever there is a big faceoff, we will keep two centermen out there," said Carter. "So if the first one is going to try to get a jump on the play and gets kicked out of the circle, there is another guy there to step in."

Flyers legend Bob Clarke claimed there is "unfair puck dropping going on in the NHL." "A good official gets it in order and drops the puck - and, if you are a centerman, you know what is coming and you get ready," said Clarke, who was exceptional in the faceoff circle as a player. "Now, so many players are kicked out of the faceoff [circle] that centermen have become uncertain. To be successful on the faceoff, you have to know what you are trying to do and trust that the official is going to drop the puck."

Repetition is a big key in becoming skilled in faceoffs. Clarke said that "you get into a routine that you follow, and that it becomes like driving a golf ball." Flyers assistant coach Terry Murray "drops pucks" for Carter and Dowd at the end of practice the same way the linesman is supposed to do it: They hold it with their index finger along the side and thumb on top and throw it to the ice so that it lands flat and "is a fair opportunity for both players." Murray added that "it jumps out at you" when a team begins losing faceoffs consistently.

"You take winning them kind of for granted," said Murray, the former Flyers head coach and a defenseman as a player. "But I have [coached] a team where we did not win them and over time it wears on you. You keep losing possession in your own end, and you never come up with it the way you should on the power play and now you have to chase back down the other end. It really becomes noticeable. And it takes a toll."

Clement agreed. "If you are getting killed on them, it can really affect what you do with the puck," he said. "Everything can break down." *