NHL Playoffs 2012: Penguins Deserve to Be Swept in Embarrassing Fashion

The Pittsburgh Penguins have played shameful hockey in the first three games of their series against the Philadelphia Flyers, and frankly, they deserve to be swept in embarrassing fashion.

Before I go any further, let's get something out of the way: I'm from Philadelphia, and yes, I'm a Flyers fan. You can stop reading here if you want—and I'm sure someone will think they are clever when they note in the comments that they did exactly that—but I intend to write this article from a neutral perspective.

Like it or not, the Penguins have played undisciplined, sloppy hockey.

They've completely abandoned any notion of defense. Regular-season heroes like Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury have been huge disappointments. The team completely lost its cool in Game 3, acting like a rag-tag group of goons that surely embarrassed team owner—and one of the game's true gentlemen—Mario Lemieux.

What happened to this Penguins team, a popular pick by many pundits to win the Stanley Cup? When exactly did this team decide they didn't need to play defense? Where did the team's composure go?

Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that the Flyers didn't instigate any fights, haven't levied any cheap hits of their own, and have been consummate gentlemen throughout.

It simply wouldn't be true.

But they have managed to play aggressive, physical hockey without crossing the line.

Players like Arron Asham, James Neal and Craig Adams didn't toe that line in Game 3. The same goes for Sidney Crosby, who frankly wrote a lot of checks with his mouth and chippy play that his fists were never willing to back up.

Crosby's role in instigating Game 3's main brawl can't be ignored. When your superstar, the man you absolutely don't want fighting, is in the middle of the stir, your team has lost its cool, plain and simple.

But Game 3, in my opinion, was in response to how the team played in the first two games, on each occasion giving up big, early leads. This team's defense—a huge part of their success for much of the year—has totally, inexcusably dissolved.

In the 17 games since Sidney Crosby returned on March 15th, the Penguins have given up 66 goals, or 3.89 goals per game. The team averaged a goals-against average of 2.7 for the entirety of the season.

When Crosby returned, did the Penguins decide they could simply outscore teams and lose their defensive edge?

I'm not sure, but I know this: as well as the Flyers have played in this series, the Penguins have been just as poor. Add in the bad form and poor sportsmanship in Game 3, and you have the recipe for a team that deserves to be swept in humiliating fashion.

You are now free to roast me in the comments for being a Flyers fan.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets light the lamp like Danny Briere.