Penguins will try to ignore Flyers' provocation

It's not easy to turn the other cheek after it has just been raked by the laces of a hockey glove or discolored with a forearm shiver.

Yet, the Pittsburgh Penguins are telling themselves it's what they must do against the Flyers if they are to advance past the first round of the playoffs, which resume with Game 4 tonight at the Wachovia Center.

The Penguins, who lead the best-of-seven series, two game to one, say their failure to take a stranglehold on the series because of their 6-3 loss on Sunday was largely because they allowed the Flyers to get under their skin.

Rather than skate away from post-whistle scrums or decline to retaliate for perceived injustices, they engaged the Flyers. As a result, the pace of the game slowed, the crowd got whipped into a frenzy, and the Flyers seemed to feed off the mayhem.

"Our frustration level was pretty evident with the stuff after the whistle," said Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, who briefly left the ice during Sunday's game after Danny Briere bloodied his nose with a high stick. "The first two games, we were smart enough to stay away from it. We fell victim to it [on Sunday] and played right into their plan. They want to slow the pace down. That gets their crowd into it, too, so any time they can do that, it's an advantage for them."

Even though the Penguins took the Flyers' bait, they still had seven power plays but converted only one into a goal. In the first two games, they had three power-play goals, including the game-winner in overtime of Game 2 in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby was asked where his team needed to improve. "Our power play," he said. "I thought five-on-five, we did a pretty good job."

Like Orpik, winger Chris Kunitz admitted the Flyers took the Penguins out of their game with extracurricular activities.

"I think we want to get away from the scrums and that kind of thing and stick to five-on-five and do the things that benefit our style of hockey, get more speed up ice," he said. "We have to walk away."

Kunitz did not walk away Sunday after he delivered a crushing hit on Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen in the first period. He ended up getting into a fight with Scott Hartnell.