NHL Playoffs: Philadelphia Flyers Ready For The Eastern Conference Finals

Not many expected this to happen this year, but here they are now: the Flyers are in the Eastern Conference finals. To make it even sweeter they will face their beloved archrivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have lost only one playoff game so far this spring. The Penguins are widely considered as the favorites, but the Flyers are also capable of upsetting the favorites as they proved in their previous round against the first seeded Montréal Canadiens.

How did this happen? Why are the Flyers here?

If there is any single reason for the Flyers' playoff success, it has got to be goaltender Martin Biron. He was good in the first round against the Washington Capitals and was able to elevate his game against the fast and skilled Canadiens. This is definitely something that the Flyers will need against the Penguins as well: hot goaltending.

While the Flyers don't have the best defensemen in the league, they do have one of the most effective defensive pairings in Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. Both of them can contribute offensively and they have successfully shut down the opposition's best forwards so far in these playoffs. They worked well against Alexander Ovechkin and Alexei Kovalev, so coach John Stevens will likely try to play them against the Penguins' best forwards as well.

Balanced scoring and contributing offensively has carried the Flyers all season, but the devastating duo of Daniel Brière and Vaclav Prospal has stepped up in the playoffs to be the team's biggest threat. The Pittsburgh native R.J. Umberger was also red hot coming into this series with nine playoff goals to his credit and he had success against the Penguins already in the regular season, so look for him to be a force on the ice.

How do the Flyers match up against the Penguins?

Both teams have hot goaltenders coming into this series. Both teams have the offense to destroy the other goalie's confidence. Biron and Marc-Andre Fleury don't have much playoff experience, but they have played so well it won't be easy to rattle them at this point. Even if they both keep playing well, there will be goals scored in this series by two great offenses, so the goalie who can rebound back faster and shake off the occasional soft goal will be closer to post a win for his team.

The Timonen - Coburn pairing can shut down any line in the league, but they can't be on the ice for 60 minutes per game. Will they face Crosby's line or Malkin's line? How well can the Flyers' other defensemen respond? Derian Hatcher and Randy Jones will likely take on Malkin's line and that is definitely one of the biggest keys to this series.

Even at this point in the season, the Flyers' offense might still be a bit underrated. The Flyers' counterattack style was deadly against the Canadiens and the Penguins will have to be very careful about it because they are a team that likes to hold on to the puck, much like the Canadiens. It is also interesting to notice how the Canadiens could sweep the Flyers in the regular season but then lost against them in five playoff games. The Flyers won the season series five to three against the Penguins, so the Flyers definitely know how to work against teams that rely on great offense.

Both teams have excellent powerplays, but so far there has been a difference in penalty killing in the Penguins' favor. The Flyers have also been taking a lot of lazy penalties and that is something they won't get away with in the long run. The Penguins' powerplay is too good to show mercy about it. Even if the Flyers can play with more discipline, there will be penalties called in this series and their best penalty killers, led by Hatcher, must be in top form throughout the series.

The final piece in the puzzle is the rivalry between these two teams and it will be the X-factor. Home ice is important in this series as both teams have been very strong at home against each other. There has already been a lot of talk about the rivalry all around the media and every player on both sides knows exactly how big this is and how important it is to try to remain cool and control yourself on the ice. One stupid penalty may cost your team the game deciding goal and it will be tough to overcome it. There will definitely be big hits, lots of trashtalking and facewashing, pushing and shoving, but there will be no room for too much recklessness as the stakes are too high. Nobody wants to be the guy who cost his team the win.

This is exactly the kind of series that can go not just either way, but in any possible way. It can be over in five, tight games or go all the way to seven games with several overtimes. Only one thing is certain: this will be a great series to watch for all hockey fans.

I'll just pull another upset out of my hat and say Flyers in seven. They can steal one game in Pittsburgh.