FlyersWIRE: Sizing up the series

April 15, 7:46 PMPhiladelphia Flyers ExaminerFrank Seravalli

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The Battle of Pennsylvania

NOTE: Check back on FLYERSWIRE.com & Examiner.com daily for the most up-to-date Flyers coverage on the web.

Reading all of the pundits and prognosticators, lots of people have lots of views on the Flyers-Penguins Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that faces-off tonight.

Make no mistake, it will be a tough series. The Flyers knew that any opponent in the first round would be a chore.

But don't believe everything that you have read or heard - the Flyers aren't as big of an underdog as they have been made out to be.

Sure, the Penguins capitalized in last year's Eastern Conference Finals series by dropping the Flyers in five games. It was a quick and easy dispatching; the Flyers didn't put up much of a fight without their top two defensemen in Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. Sure, the Penguins have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the most formidable one-two punch in the league. (Malkin led the league in points with 113, Crosby was third with 103) And yes, the Penguins captured home-ice advantage by finishing the season on a hot streak.

But this Flyers team is much different than last season.

Not only are Timonen and Coburn back and healthy, but the Flyers are all one year older and more experienced. They remember what it was like to play in the hostile environment that is Mellon Arena. Most importantly, the bulk of the Flyers leadership - including Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, as Ed Moran pointed out in today's Philadelphia Daily News - now have two full seasons under their belts.

Without home ice advantage, here are a few things that the Flyers need to do to win this series:

• Win one of the first two games in Pittsburgh. Mellon Arena is a tough place to play, but the Flyers need to eliminate the Pens' home ice advantage by coming back to Philadelphia knotted at one.
• Keep close tabs on the Penguins snipers (Crosby and Malkin). Be careful not to get caught up in Crosby's head games and whining.
• Don't forget about Sergei Gonchar at Pittsburgh's point. Gonchar is great at quarterbacking the Penguins' power play.
• Stay out of the box; Crosby and Malkin can make you pay BIG TIME when given the opportunity. Two 100-point scorers is no joke.

If the Flyers can do this, they have more than a fighters' chance in this series.

Seravalli's selection: Flyers in 7 games.