Penguins Gameday #32 (Flyers)

Penguins (21-8-2, 44 pts)

Flyers (19-7-5, 43 pts)

Where: Wells Fargo Center

When: 7:00 ET

TV: Versus

The Pens face their toughest test of the entire streak when they take their 12 game streak into Philadelphia to face their hated cross-state rivals. This is sure to be a slugfest as usual, with the emotions and the stakes raised from the normal level. To add to this tension, the winner of this game will leave with the division lead.

Opponents to Watch:

-Claude Giroux: Lighting the board up this year with 14 goals and as many assists. He is most effective on breakaways and powerplay situations.

-Chris Pronger: When he's not busy pretending to be Sean Avery, Pronger's slapshot still packs quite the punch and you know that he's going to be going after Sid all night.

-Daniel Briere: When there is a rebound to be put away, he will find it. And he is also good on breakaways.

Keys to Victory:

-Don't take penalties! There will be plenty of times where it would certainly feel good to give Hartnell or Carcillo a punch in the ribs but the less we all see of this Flyers PP the better.

-Transition game! Try to get the puck up ice as quickly as possible but more importantly do not give the Flyers any unnecessary "odd man" rushes.

-Things will work so much better if the lines work cohesively. Games like this can become frustrating for both teams and that causes things to look more like a free-for-all out on the ice. If the Pens can stick to their gameplan, they will gain an advantage.

Notes:

-Malkin looked good in practice, but mum's the word as to whether or not he will play. My guess is that they will probably hold him out for a precaution.

-Flyers rookie sensation goalie Sergei Bobrovsky may not play today. That would leave the Flyers to start Brian Boucher.