After all, they'd been down this road before, winning the first three games against the Rangers in the second round before going back to Pittsburgh to wrap up the series in Game 5.

Now they have the opportunity to do it again when the Eastern Conference finals returns to Pittsburgh on Sunday for Game 5.

Asked if the Flyers did anything to allow a little doubt to seep into the Penguins, winger Jarkko Ruutu shrugged.

"It's just one game," he said after his team lost only its second game of the postseason. "We have to learn from it. We've been in this situation before. This is no different."

Pittsburgh attributed the loss to a few brain cramps in the first period. They took three penalties that led to two power-play goals by the Flyers, who squeezed off 12 shots the three times they had the advantage.

One of those penalties was whistled on defenseman Brooks Orpik for roughing. In the late moments of the power play, Jeff Carter gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead. Orpik wasn't thrilled with the call.

"The referees didn't lose the game for us," Orpik said. "But the frustrating thing is you just want them to be consistent from referee to referee. The guy punches you, and you just grab him in a headlock and don't punch him or anything, and you get a roughing penalty. At this time of the year, it's sometimes hard to figure out. But like I said, that didn't win or lose the game for us. We've got to kill those penalties off."

Despite the loss, the Penguins believe they ended the night with enough momentum to carry them through Game 5. They did take control of the third period, getting two goals from Jordan Staal, who left the team Wednesday to be with his family in Thunder Bay, Ontario, because of the death of his grandfather.

Staal's second goal came with 5 minutes, 49 seconds remaining, forcing the Flyers to hang on for dear life until Joffrey Lupul enabled the jacked-up crowd to exhale with an empty-net goal with 32.3 seconds to go.

"We just came out flat in the first period," Orpik said. "The second and third periods, we started playing like we're supposed to play. We got them back on their heels and we dictated play. We'll be fine. Just regroup and take some momentum from the second and third period and come up big on Sunday.

"You don't want to give that team any life," he continued. "They've got a character team, and we have a lot of respect for those guys over there. The longer you let them breathe, the worse it gets."

In their fateful first period, the Penguins were a far different team than the one that had become the first to go 11-1 in the playoffs since Edmonton in 1983.

The Penguins had held the Flyers to three goals the previous eight periods of the series and had surrendered only five power-play goals in their 12 playoff games for an impressive 89.4 percent penalty-kill rate.

"I don't think we were focused enough," Ruutu said. "When that happens, you take stupid penalties, and it cost us. But there's a fifth game on Sunday."

A Lupul slapshot that appeared to hit off Hal Gill's stick and change direction gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. After Sergei Gonchar got a borderline holding call against him, Danny Briere poked in a puck that was dangling loose in the crease and it was 2-0.

The Penguins, who had been behind for only 64 minutes in their previous 12 playoff games, were behind for 51:31 of this one.

"They played pretty well," Maxime Talbot said. "They got a break on the first goal. But you've got to give them credit. They came out with a lot of pressure, but we came back and battled hard, and that's what we have to take home with us. They deserved it tonight. But we know what it takes."