The Flyers face their 2nd straight must win game at home, in Game 4 of their first round series against the Penguins. A win would send the series back to Pittsburgh tied 2-2, essentially becoming a best of three series. A loss would put the Flyers in a big 3-1 hole going back to Pittsburgh, a situation we want to avoid.
The Flyers looked bad in Game 1, good in Game 2, and great in Game 3. They need to come out and play exactly the same way they played in Game 3. We still need to eliminate the penalties, but being the more physical team, we need to keep hitting, and keep with the rough stuff, to wear down the Penguins. One of the reasons the Flyers thrive in a 7-game series is because we can tire out our opponents as the series goes on. Being physical is easier said than done, especially when the Penguins have the snipers on offense that they do. Crosby and Malkin are both playing well in this series, and that is not a good thing for us.
It is also very important for the Flyers to continue to play from ahead in these games. They played from ahead in Game 2, but ended up losing, and played from ahead in Game 3, which allowed them to control the game for the most part. If the Flyers play from behind, they will need to take more chances, which will allow the Penguins to come through the neutral zone more easily, and get odd man rushes.
The Flyers also need to play very strong defense, much like they did in Game 3, and get solid goaltending from Marty Biron. If the offense can feed off of the crowd, and the refs aren’t out there giving the game to the Penguins, the Flyers have a good chance to get back even in this series.
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