(Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Flyers hope a return to their home ice can get them on the board in the Eastern Conference finals, as Philly welcomes the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Wachovia Center for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series.
The second-seeded Penguins, champions of the Atlantic Division, have grabbed a 2-0 edge in the series dubbed as the "Battle of Pennsylvania" by posting a pair of 4-2 victories on their home ice in Games 1 and 2.
Pittsburgh is now 10-1 overall in this postseason and has won 21 of its last 27 games dating back to the regular season. The Penguins are also 7-0 at home in the playoffs and have won 15 straight at the Igloo since last losing a test in the Steel City on February 24 against San Jose.
The series will now shift to the eastern side of the Keystone State for Games 3 and 4. The Flyers, who were 21-14-6 as the home club during the regular season, will also host a test at the Wachovia Center on Thursday. Philadelphia is 4-1 at home this postseason.
Pittsburgh was 21-17-3 as the visiting team during the regular season and 3-1 on the road in this year's playoffs.
The Penguins swept Ottawa in the opening round and defeated the New York Rangers in five games during the conference semifinals.
The sixth-seeded Flyers are in the conference finals after outlasting Washington in seven games in the opening round and then beating top-seeded Montreal in five games.
After taking the series opener by a 4-2 count on Friday, the Penguins extended their lead with a victory on Sunday by the same score. Maxime Talbot scored the go-ahead goal 8:51 into the third period to help Pittsburgh take a two games to none advantage. Talbot returned to the lineup after missing the last three games due to a broken right foot.
With the series moving to Philadelphia, the Penguins must now deal with the hostility of the Flyers' faithful.
"I would say it's a pretty tough place to play," Crosby told the Canadian Press. "At the same time, in the playoffs it makes for a great atmosphere. They're just a tough crowd. They're not afraid to say anything."
Sidney Crosby finished with a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who are trying to take a 3-0 lead for the third straight series. Marian Hossa and Jordan Staal also scored for the Penguins. Following tonight's game, Staal will leave the team to attend a family funeral in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
"Well I just talked to my parents and I obviously want to be there," Staal told the Canadian Press. "It's definitely a difficult situation for myself especially the way things are going right now for me. But I think there's bigger things than hockey sometimes and I'm just glad I can make it home."
"He watched every single game last year I think for all three of us or all four of us," Jordan said. "He's been a hockey fan and we've all been really close. It's definitely a tough loss."
Gary Roberts is not expected to play tonight and may miss more than tonight's playoff game.
Sources tell TSN that Roberts has been diagnosed with pneumonia in the last day or so and has likely been playing with the condition for about two weeks.
The Flyers return home down 2-0 for the first time in these playoffs. Earlier in the playoffs, Philadelphia has managed to grab one game on the road before coming back home in series against Washington and Montreal. But if the Flyers hope to get back in this series, the team is going to have to find another gear.
"We're 0-2 right now, and I don't think we've played very well," said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. "We played better in the second game, but I think we have to play better if we expect to win a game."
"The real important thing is that we feel we have another level and we're going to hit that level (Tuesday) night," added defencemen Derian Hatcher.
After failing to score a goal in the New York series, Crosby has notched a marker in each of the first two games against Philadelphia. The 20-year-old captain has four goals and 13 assists in 11 playoff games this year, tying him with Evgeni Malkin for the team-lead in postseason points. Malkin has registered his 17 points on eight goals and nine assists.
"Going home, they want to play well," Crosby said. "Every game is important, but they want to make sure that they win this next one, there is no doubt."
Sergei Gonchar finished with three assists, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30-of-32 shots in the victory for Pittsburgh.
Jeff Carter scored, and Mike Richards added a shorthanded tally for the Flyers. Martin Biron faced 37 shots, and stopped 34 of them.
Philadelphia was already playing without star defencemen Kimmo Timonen, who is out for the entire series with a blood clot, but also lost blue-liner Braydon Coburn, who was hit near the eye with a puck and did not return. Coburn's eye was swollen shut and over 50 stitches were needed to close the gash. The Flyers have not revealed if any permanent damage to the eye was sustained.
Coburn will not play in tonight's game and 21-year-old Ryan Parent will take his place in the lineup.
Prior to the injuries, Coburn and Timonen made up Philadelphia's top defensive pairing and the players were the top-two Flyers in terms of average ice time per game.
The Flyers are in the conference finals for the first time since 2004 and last made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997, when they were swept by Detroit.
Pittsburgh is in the conference finals for the first time since 2001. The Pens haven't made it to the Stanley Cup finals since winning the second of back-to- back championships in 1992.
The Flyers won the season series against Pittsburgh, 5-3, but Philadelphia posted four of those victories prior to the All-Star break, before the Penguins really started to click.
The Penguins then won three straight in the series before Philadelphia posted a 2-0 victory on the final day of the regular season.
The Flyers are 3-0 all-time in playoff series against the Penguins with the most recent meeting coming in the 2000 conference semifinals. Philadelphia also fell behind 0-2 in that series, but won the final four outings, including a memorable five-overtime matchup in Game 3.
When leading a best-of-seven NHL playoff series 2-0, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 9-2 and a Game 3 record of 9-2.
The Penguins have not won in Philadelphia since February 8th, 2007.