The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will meet for the second time this season on Wednesday night.
The intense rivalry started on the first day of the season when the Penguins managed to shut down the Flyers in a 3-1 victory. Since then, both tames have taken diverging paths in this shortened season. The Penguins are a top team in the Eastern Conference while the Flyers are struggling to find their way. Philadelphia hit rock bottom over the weekend when they lost two straight to the Montreal Canadiens. After that game Captain Claude Giroux stated that "There's no compete...We're not winning battles. We're just going through the motions. You know, we're a young team that can skate. We should be winning more battles than this. It's just frustrating to see. I know I have to be better, but a team is 20 guys and you need everybody to show up."
The team responded with a 7-0 thrashing of the New York Islanders on Monday after. Giroux scored just 26 seconds into the game and Matt Read tallied 13 seconds into the second frame. Giroux ended the game with two goals and one assist while Jakub Voracek put up four assists in the rout.
"Everybody took [what Claude said] personally - and that was the goal," said forward Danny Briere. "Once again though, he took care of it himself at the start of the game and we had no choice but to follow suit. That's huge leadership on his part."
Meanwhile the Penguins have won three straight thanks to tremendous play of its own Captain Sidney Crosby. The superstar has tallied seven points in the last two games, including an assist on the game winner against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
"It's not ordinary," Coach Dan Bylsma said of Crosby's performance. "You realize you're watching somebody at a different level. So to say you ever take it for granted it's absolutely not at all."
Predictions: Philadelphia defeats Pittsburgh 3-2.
Start Time: 7:30 PM EST
TV: NBCSN, TSN2, RDS
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