Supporting cast could play a big role in Flyers-Penguins matchup

Any of several players, including Jordan Staal, Pascal Dupuis, Maxime Talbot, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere or Darroll Powe, could come out from under the shadows and have a significant impact on the series.

That point was not lost on Flyers coach John Stevens yesterday.

"From a coaching standpoint it would be a mistake just to focus on [Crosby and Malkin]," Stevens said.

"Obviously there is a huge concern there with both teams having relied an awful lot on their top two lines. But if you recall last year, Staal had a huge game in one of those games in the series when we were keeping the other guys in check, and I think the Giroux line has been a huge factor for us.

"They're going to have a bigger responsibility defensively, but I see the role players on both teams being very important in this series. I know Talbot and Dupuis have already been a force in giving this team energy in shorthanded situations and I know they were probably the factor in the Montreal game [on Saturday night]. It's going to be no different for us.

"Darroll Powe and Giroux, Briere, [Daniel] Carcillo, [Arron] Asham and these guys are going to be a big factor in this series."

Staal would be a top-two center on many other teams. He is 6-4, weighs 220 pounds and can be a force coming through the middle and going to the net. The Penguins want him matched against Carter, which leaves Malkin against Giroux when Pittsburgh gets the line change it wants.

The Flyers will want to see Carter on Malkin. Which means Giroux will end up with Staal. In either situation, that is a lot for a rookie who is generously listed at 5-11 and 172 pounds.

But Giroux and Briere say they are ready for the challenge.

"Hopefully we can make a difference," Briere said. "It's been the goal here for our line and it's been clicking and it's been playing well and hopefully we can be that factor that makes it go our way.

"Obviously, and rightfully so, everybody is talking about those four guys. They've had a tremendous season, all four of them, and it's going to make for a very interesting series for the fans.

"It doesn't matter for us. We're on the road, they'll have the matchup they want. We can't control that. That's the coach's job.

"For us we're players and whoever we're going to face we have to try to do the best we can. We're not afraid of any of them."

Giroux agreed, saying he knows he faces a challenge.

"Any player I'm going to play against, they're going to be pretty good and bigger than me. So I just have to be able to work my body around and be in good position all the time," he said. "I have to think defensively first."

Different approaches

 

It's interesting to listen to the way John Stevens approaches a seven-game series vs. the way Penguins coach Dan Bylsma does.

"The best thing I have ever heard about a playoff series is that it's a race to four, not a best-of-seven, and that's the way we'll approach it," Bylsma said.

"We're going to try to play our game and dictate the way the series is played and how it's played. We're not looking past getting the first win, and then it's the first of four [wins]. It's a race to four. I heard that from [Red Wings coach] Mike Babcock and wrote that one down and said that's one I'll use again."

And Stevens?

"It's always been my philosophy going into a seven-game series [to plan] on seven and if it ends before seven, that's a bonus, provided you win," he said.

"I've been on teams where players get up, 3-1, and you don't win that fourth game or you're 3-0 and then you lose one and now you seem to lose your energy and your focus because you want it to be over before it's over.

"To me it's a seven-game series and I look at it that way because every shift, every play, every hit, every blocked shot and every extra-effort play through the course of a seven-game series could be the difference. So if you look at it like a seven-game series, you're prepared for the long haul and there are no disappointments along the way."

Crosby's favorite fans

 

Asked yesterday if he thought Philadelphia fans were hard on him, Sidney Crosby said they were but that Washington's fans were competing for the top spot.

"It's an intense building [Wachovia Center] and their fans are known for being pretty tough, particularly on me," Crosby said. "So it's nothing that's going to surprise me. I've played there enough to know. I've played there in the playoffs. I'm not going to change anything. You have to control your emotions in a situation like that and if anything, focus even more."

But are they the worst?

"Well, Washington is gradually making its way up there but I would say they are the top two of those, so those two are battling for loudest I would say." *