PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s been chippy. That’s the word most used this time of year describing playoff hockey. It’s a bit more than that, at times it’s been cheap, on both sides, although Pens head coach Dan Muse more writes it off to being the postseason.
“I don’t see it as crazy different from other series,” Muse said. “I’m not thinking that this is specific to us. It’s playoff hockey, it’s going to be physical.”
On the surface that sounds true, Buffalo and Boston have had a number of penalties. The end of the Carolina-Ottawa series got heated as those teams combined for 102 minutes over four games. You’ve likely seen highlights from other games with fights or big hits, the emotions are high.
There is no series where the emotion is higher than this one. You feel the hate in the fan bases as each accuses the other of dirty hits and you see it play out on the ice.
The Pens currently lead the NHL in playoff penalty minutes with 100, the Flyers are third with 94 (Boston has 96, Sabres 4th with 75). This series has nine of the top 20 players in terms of total penalty minutes in the playoffs. There have been other incidents that haven’t been whistled, but could have been.
Now it’s back in the lion’s den. To their credit, Philadelphia, especially when playing the Pens, is one of the most hostile crowds in sports and you can bet the Flyers are going to be breathing that in on the ice Wednesday night.
“Going back to Game 4, I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping it whistle-to-whistle,” Muse said Tuesday. “There were a couple of moments we got away from it (Monday) night, but it’s been better than it was the first few games. We want to focus on the things we can control.”
Postgame reaction from Pens-Flyers Game 5
But can they? The first few games they got sucked in and found themselves in a huge 3-0 series hole. Now that it’s 3-2, can the Pens stay to their play.
“Playoff hockey is going to be physical, physical on both sides, but we also want to make sure we are not putting ourselves at a disadvantage and we are staying in emotional control,” Muse said. “It’s gotten better as the series has gone on and it’s going to have to continue to be better as well.”
Muse said their best game is still ahead of them, but to get to it they can’t get drawn in by the Flyers or their crowd.
It’s been the highest penalized series in the playoffs, what Dan Muse said about going back to Philly
It’s been the highest penalized series in the playoffs, what Dan Muse said about going back to Philly
