The battle of Pennsylvania resumes on Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Penguins enter Thursday contest with a two game winning streak. In their most recent victory, the Penguins took down the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on national television. The game was all the more significant because it showcased the return of Evgeni Malkin after the reigning MVP suffered a concussion. Malkin played as if he hadn't missed a game and registered a goal and an assist on the winning tally.
"He had guys shaking their heads at how strong he was yesterday," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said after the victory. "They were pretty amazed at how physical and strong he was on the puck yesterday, so to see him come out and play that way and be confident, I'm not real surprised."
"I don't know if he was doing any stickhandling while we were gone (on a road trip), but he looked pretty sharp," added Captain Sidney Crosby. "It's fun. When he's going like that, it's pretty tough to stop him."
The Flyers are coming off a demoralizing 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. The team held New York to a 2-2 tie until the third period when they imploded and gave up the game winner under three minutes into the final frame. "It's not like we were under siege," Coach Peter Laviolette said. "I think we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. There weren't a lot of chances both ways, but we made more mistakes than they did and that's why they won the game."
"Giving up the goal in the last minute can't happen," Forward Wayne Simmonds added. "We didn't play as well as we could have [after that] and it obviously cost us the game."
This is the third meeting between the two squads. The Penguins defeated the Flyers on the opening day of the season but the Flyers won on Feb. 20 by the score of 6-5.
Prediction: Penguins win 5-3.
Start Time: 7 PM EST
TV: NHLN-US, ROOT, CSN-PH