CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The heavy temptation here is to take the Penguins in five.
These aren't your father's Flyers in the sense that they're all about skating and skill, not really at all about the trademark thuggery that's pretty much defined the franchise since its founding. And yet, they might as well be your father's Flyers in the sense that they haven't had star-level or even competent goaltending since the current GM, Ron Hextall, was chasing Robbie Brown around the rink.
Add that to a young, easily-exposed defense, factor in the Penguins' offense that scored five times in each game of the four-game series sweep in the regular season, and that's got routine first-round Stanley Cup playoff victory written all over it. Four games maybe, five at the most.
Except for two annoying things:
1. The Penguins' penalty-killing stinks against everyone anymore.
2. The Flyers' power-play style makes for an even worse matchup.
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