Game Thread ECQF - Game #5 - Flyers vs Penguins

[Digityman]

Bryz will start in goal.

Grossman is OUT

Manning and Gus both have a locker.

PREVIEW 7:00 AM EDT

Dealing with the adversity of some key injuries and coming off a frightful 10-3 beatdown in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Philadelphia Flyers will attempt to end the series tonight when they return to the Consol Energy Center to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast locally on CSN Philly and nationally on NBCSN in the U.S. and TSN in Canada.

On Wednesday night, the Flyers got off to a good start for once and converted three first-period power play chances into goals to take leads of 1-0 and 3-2. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was a disaster. Bad rebounds, defensive breakdowns, a parade of undisciplined penalties, a few awful turnovers and outstanding puck movement by the Penguins' power play was the order of the day.

To make matters worse, the Flyers lost shutdown defenseman Nicklas Grossmann to a concussion. A combination of a shoulder or elbow to the head by Evgeni Malkin in the first period and a big hit by Tyler Kennedy in the second period forced the big Swede out of the game. He is officially "day-to-day with an upper body injury," but everyone knows what the injury actually is. Marc-Andre Bourdon is also believed to have suffered a recurrent concussion (if so, it's his second within about two months).

It was apparent last game that there was something physically wrong with Ilya Bryzgalov. My best guess at the time was that the chip fracture in his right foot was still bothering him. His lateral movement was non-existent. Subsequent conflicting rumors have said it is a lower-body issue of another sort (perhaps a hip or groin), which may be the bi-product of trying to compensate for the original injury. Bryzgalov left practice yesterday after only 10 minutes on the ice.

Whatever the case, the Flyers deny that Bryzgalov is hurt or will be a game-time decision. But teams habitually deny injuries during the postseason in particular. If he does play, Bryzgalov will need to do a much better job with his rebound control as well as the players in front of him preventing cross-ice passes from reaching their target.

The Flyers may have James van Riemsdyk in the lineup tonight. He is not 100 percent healed from his broken foot yet, but has pronounced himself ready to go. He skated with the regulars yesterday, while Zac Rinaldo skated among the scratches.

On the Pittsburgh side, the club is also dealing with some blueline injuries along with the 3-1 deficit in the series. Paul Martin missed Wednesday's game and did not practice yesterday. Zbynek Michalek played in Game 4 after missing practices but was clearly hampered; he's expected to remain in the lineup. The Penguins get high-scoring winger James Neal and checking forward Craig Adams back from suspension tonight.

The Penguins dressed seven defensemen last game and only 11 forwards. Head coach Dan Bylsma said he liked how the arrangement worked out for his team. It may continue tonight.

Discipline -- of both the defensive and emotional/physical restraint varieties -- has been the buzzword in the entire series. That is not about to change tonight. It would not be surprising if this is another tightly called game. Each club has been punishing the other with its power play, but the Flyers have done it in all four games while Pittsburgh has only started to get going in that department in the last two.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)

FLYERS

Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr

Schenn - Briere - Simmonds

Talbot - Couturier - Van Riemsdyk

Wellwood - Read - Voracek

Timonen - Coburn

Carle - Gustafsson

Lilja - Kubina

Bryzgalov/ Bobrovsky

PENGUINS

Kunitz - Malkin - Neal

Sullivan - Crosby - Dupuis

Cooke - Staal - Kennedy

Adams - Vitale(?) - Park

Niskanen - Letang

Orpik - Michalek

Depres - Engelland

Strait (?) - (Letang)

Fleury

[Johnson]

Meltzer

[fan4ever]

My official opinion is that they don't have to win tonight to win the series but it is not an option. I do think the Flyers will win the series and refuse to think anything different. As this series has moved along my feelings towards the Pens have gotten worse and worse. Let's kill them in front of their home crowd and make them shake our hands in a nice line at the end.

[sarsippius]

I don't they necessarily think they lose the series if they lose tonight......but that snowball rolling downhill gets even bigger

[Digityman]

Looking at the Flyers' lines that Bill has posted:

Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr

Schenn - Briere - Simmonds

Talbot - Couturier - Van Riemsdyk

Wellwood - Read - Voracek

I don't think that JVR should be with Couturier and Voracek on the 4th line seems worthless.

My lines would be:

Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr - Obviously don't mess with this line.

Schenn - Briere - Voracek - I see Voracek similar to Lieno. He holds on to the puck and distributes which is plays nicely into Briere's ability to find the holes. Scheen creates space for those two.

Talbot - Couturier - Wellwood - Wellwood's speed helps this line a lot. JVR is going to be slow and winded out of the gate. He won't be able to help contain Malkin. Having Wellwood there would assist in helping keep the Penguins pinned in their own zone (best defense is a good offense)

JVR - Read - Simmonds - This is a good speed line and matches up to the Pens 4th (and 3rd) line pretty well.

Unfortunately, the Pens have the last change tonight so maybe none of this matters.

[PHI Flyers10]

Go Bryzgalov!

[LongTimeLurk]

Unfortunately, the Pens have the last change tonight so maybe none of this matters.

Maybe it does matter; Bylsma failed to match lines in Games 1 and 2.

[Green Man]

Go Bryzgalov!

Dude, that is some weird ****.

[PHI Flyers10]

Dude, that is some weird ****.

I'm pretty sure that's what goes on in Bryz's head during games.

[JackStraw]

Hope JVR plays, but I haven't seen any definitive word on him yet. He was not at the morning skate today, which was optional.

[sarsippius]

I can't see JVR getting anything but 4th line duty, maybe 8-10 minutes and try to get his skating legs under him, that's about it.

[mkscrewy]

Dude, that is some weird ****.

i think it goes faster the more you watch it

[PHI Flyers10]

i think it goes faster the more you watch it

I think you can speed it up and down with your mind. I just made the images flash really quickly but then slowly.

[Phlyer1]

No muscle in tonights game except for Simmonds. Who will fight if needed? Harts hehas been quiet lately.