Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Mon, May. 12, 2008
Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Flyers' Tyler Kennedy fights Flyers Scottie Upshall in the first period Sunday.
PITTSBURGH - With stars such as Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa, it's easy to label the Penguins as a team simply built on skill and speed. A team that gives you the white-glove treatment, killing you softly with pretty passes and deft skating, then politely asking your forgiveness.
But there's another side to the Flyers' opponent in the Eastern Conference finals. That side shows a snarling Penguin, the side that trades in the white gloves for balled fists, the side willing to deliver bone-jarring hits.
Early yesterday, before the Flyers and Penguins faced off for Game 2 at Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said he expected both teams to bring more than what they showed in the Penguins' 4-2 win Friday night. The Flyers had shown in the first two rounds, against Washington and Montreal, that desperation fostered an edginess that fueled wins in Game 2 of both those series. Washington and Montreal could not match the Flyers' grit.
Last night, the Penguins let the Flyers know they are quite willing to get down and dirty.
The Penguins and Flyers took this game from the ice to the back alley shortly after the first puck was dropped. Looking to establish an early tenor to the proceedings, the Pens' Tyler Kennedy and the Flyers' Scottie Upshall engaged in the first fight of the series. Upshall proved he can take a punch. In this bout, in fact, he proved it several times.
"It was tough because they played with more desperation," the Pens' Georges Laraque said. "Tyler did a really good job in front of the home crowd. He got them going. That was real important."
Late in the second period, Malkin sent Danny Briere wobbling to the bench with an elbow to the chops, but Briere came out of the fog to play the third period. And for the first time this postseason, Flyers goalie Marty Biron was sideswiped by opponents.
So it seemed appropriate that Pittsburgh's decisive goal in the 4-2 victory that gave it a two-games-to-none lead was not scored by Malkin or Crosby or Hossa, but by one of the grunts - the earnest Maxime Talbot.
Talbot had missed the three previous playoff games with a broken right foot, the kind of injury that might put a baseball player on the disabled list or a football player on injured reserve. In the secretive environment of the NHL postseason, it is called a lower-body injury.
A center, Talbot is characterized as an "energy guy". He is known for his checking and ability to kill penalties. He excels at the game's grittier details.
In other words, Talbot is the kind of player who frequently does his job in relative obscurity. Not last night.
"It's a great way to come back," a smiling Talbot said after the Pens won their 15th straight at home, including seven in a row on home ice in the playoffs. "This morning, I was just happy to be back in the lineup. I was happy as a kid. Right now, to get a game-winning goal, it's extra special."
Talbot's mates on the checking line - Laraque and Gary Roberts - assisted on the goal that made it 3-2 with 11 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the third period. Once the Pens got the lead, they smothered the Flyers, another sign of a team with grit.
"That's our role. We have to give our team a little momentum out there," Talbot said. "When we get out there, we try to change momentum. Georges got it behind the net and Gary got it to me and I was by myself."
As for the broken foot?
"I can't even feel it right now," he said. "You get in the game and you don't even think about it."
After a pause, Talbot added, "It feels great."
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo
at 215-854-2743
or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
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