5 THINGS: Flyers vs. Penguins

Philadelphia Flyers (42-26-14: 98pts) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (47-29-6: 100pts)
ROUND 1 - GAME 1: Series tied 0-0
at PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, PA
TIME: 7:00 p.m. | TV: NBCSP | RADIO: 93.3 WMMR
presented by The Rothman Institute at Jefferson Hospital
QUICK STATS
Season Series:0-2-2
Playoff All-Time Record:
Series:6 Series (4 wins, 2 losses)
Games: 35gp (19-16)
Leading Scorers:
PHI: 102-pts, Claude Giroux (34g-68a)
PIT: 98-pts, Evgeni Malkin (42g-56a)

1. THE SECOND SEASON
The Flyers enter the playoffs having earned points in 10 of their last 11 games, going 7-1-3 and recording four goals or more in nine of the 11 games, including their last four contests... The Penguins enter their 12th straight playoff seasons (the longest active streak in the NHL) and are winners of two straight, four of their last five games and have not lost back-to-back games since end of February... Since Jan. 2, these two teams finished in the Top 5 of best records in the NHL with the Pens ranking fourth at 28-11-3 for 59 points, while the Flyers are T-5th with a 26-12-6 record for 58 points.
2. ABOUT THE SERIES
This series will feature five of the Top 15 players in the NHL's scoring race (Giroux, Malkin, Kessel, Crosby & Voracek), including four in the Top 10 (Giroux, Malkin, Kessel & Crosby)... The Penguins have the NHL's best power play at 26.2 percent, including the best on home ice at 26.8 percent, while the Flyers have the NHL's 4th best power play while on the road, operating at 23.3 percent... The Pens took the season series, winning all four games with the Flyers earning points in two of the contests… The season series saw a combined 31 goals scored between the two clubs (PIT: 20, PHI: 11) with more than half (16 of 31) scored in the second period... The Penguins won both games in Pittsburgh in overtime by a score of 5-4.
3. IN GAME 1's
This is the fifth of seven playoff meetings the Flyers open the series in Pittsburgh... They won the last Game 1 in Pittsburgh in 2012, but overall have dropped four of the six Game 1's they have played, going 2-4... The Flyers have an all-time record of 32-38 in Game 1's and have won 23 of 32 series when winning Game 1, while the Penguins are 32-34 in Game 1's have have won 24 of the 32 series when winning Game 1... Brian Elliott has a 5-3 record in Game 1's with a 1.64 GAA and .947 save percentage... Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with 32 points (12g-20a) in 26 Game 1's in his career, while goaltender Matt Murray has a 22-9 record in two career postseasons, while owning a 2-2 record in Game 1's.
4. SINCE LAST WE MET... IN THE PLAYOFFS
This is the fourth time these two teams meet in the playoffs in the last 11 seasons and first meeting since the 2012 playoffs when the Flyers earned a 4-2 series win in the First Round in a series that saw 56 goals scored (PHI: 30, PIT: 26) and three games in which there were 12 or more goals scored (Games 2, 3 & 4)... The 2012 series also saw a combined 312 penalty minutes in the six games (Flyers: 163, Penguins: 149) with 256 minutes in Games 3 and 4... Five Flyers remain from the 2012 series (Couturier, Giroux, Read, Simmonds & Voracek), while three Penguins remain from that series (Crosby, Letting & Malkin).
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
FLYERS (C: #28 - Claude Giroux)
Giroux finished second in the NHL's scoring race with 102 points, first among all players in the playoffs, and tied for first in the NHL with 68 assists... Giroux heads into the playoffs on a 10-game point streak with 19 points (8g-11a), including four straight multi-point games and five straight games recording a goal... He did not go more than two straight games all year without recording at least a point... In playoff hockey, Giroux averages nearly a point per-game in his career with 62 points (23g-39a) in 63 games.
PENGUINS (C: #87 - Sidney Crosby)
Crosby comes in as the NHL's active playoff leading scorer with 164 points (57g-107a) in 148 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 46 points (14g-32a) in 48 games in the last two playoffs... Crosby ended the season with points in eight of his last nine games, posting 12 points (6g-6a) in that stretch... He led the Pens with nine points (2g-7a) and a +8 rating in four games against the Flyers in the season series.