The Flyers stayed alive for at least two more days, fighting off elimination, and beating the Penguins 3-0 in Pittsburgh. Everyone can grow their playoff beards at least a little longer, and hopefully a lot longer.
The Flyers know they can play with the Penguins, and I think were a little angry at themselves for losing two games (Game 2 & Game 4) which wer every winnable. The Flyers came out and played a very focused, determined, and smart Game 5, while still playing their game. The Flyers victory allows the series to come back to Philadelphia for Game 6, where the most intimidating fans in the NHL are waiting.
After a scoreless first, Arron Asham got the Flyers on the board in the 2nd, with a nasty slap shot that couldn't have been placed any more perfectly in the upper corner of the net. In the 3rd period, the Flyers got goals from Giroux and Knuble to put the game away. The defense played their best game of the series, and Marty Biron obviously was solid, getting the shutout. The game was evenly played, the Flyers just being the team to put the puck in the back of the net. The Flyers did a great job back-checking, and not allowing the Penguins stars to ever get anything going.
This has been a very good series, probably the best first round series in the NHL so far, especially since it is between two rivals. Both teams now have 13 goals in this series. The Flyers need to keep doing what they have been doing the past few games in this series. They need to still play with a lot of focus, and desperation. Even though we held off elimination for one game, we still have to two more. We are still down in the series, and it's not going to be easy. But one game at a time is how the team has to approach it... and they did their job in Game 5. The series comes back to Philadelphia for a day game on Saturday.
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