(My Sportsbook) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try again to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup finals when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals at Mellon Arena.

The second-seeded Penguins, champions of the Atlantic Division, had grabbed a 3-0 edge in the series dubbed as the "Battle of Pennsylvania", but the Flyers staved off elimination with a 4-2 decision Thursday night in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh is attempting to reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since winning the second of back-to-back championships in 1992.

Meanwhile, the sixth-seeded Flyers are hoping to get a big boost today with the expected return of top defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who has missed the first four tests of this series with a blood clot in his left ankle. Timonen, an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, has been cleared to skate, but is still experiencing pain and numbness in the foot. The 33-year-old Finn was originally considered to be out for the rest of the playoffs, but he is expected to be ready for today's test.

Timonen is leading the Flyers in average ice time per game, as he's skated in nearly 25 minutes per contest in the postseason. He also has six assists in 12 playoff games.

Philadelphia was also hoping to get Braydon Coburn back today, but Timonen's defensive partner is still suffering from a cut near his eye that needed 50 stitches to close. Coburn sustained the injury in Game 2 and is questionable for this afternoon's tilt.

Still, in order to reach the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1997, the Flyers will have to be just the third team in NHL history to erase an 0-3 series deficit to win a series. The New York Islanders achieved the feat in the 1975 quarterfinals against the Penguins and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs recovered from an 0-3 hole to defeat Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals.

Philadelphia notched its first win of the series on Thursday, as Martin Biron made 36 saves to help the Flyers avoid elimination with a 4-2 decision at the Wachovia Center.

Joffrey Lupul scored twice while Danny Briere and Jeff Carter each added a goal for the Flyers. Scott Hartnell had three assists in the game.

Jordan Staal scored both goals while Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh played its second straight game without veteran forward Gary Roberts, who is suffering from a mild case of pneumonia. Roberts, who will turn 42 years old on May 23, has been a healthy scratch at times this postseason and has two goals and an assist in the playoffs. He is questionable for this afternoon's game.

The setback dropped Pittsburgh to 11-2 so far in this postseason. The Penguins swept Ottawa in the opening round and defeated the New York Rangers in five games during the conference semifinals.

However, the Penguins have been perfect at home in this postseason, posting a 7-0 mark at the Igloo. In fact, Pittsburgh has won 15 straight in the Steel City dating back to the regular season. The Pens last defeat at home came on February 24 against the San Jose Sharks.

The Penguins were the best home club in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, as they went 26-10-5 as the hosts.

The Flyers were 21-15-5 as the visiting team this year and are just 4-5 on the road in the postseason.

If necessary, the teams will meet in Philadelphia for Game 6 on Tuesday night.

Philadelphia is in the conference finals for the first time since 2004 after outlasting Washington in seven games in the opening round and then beating top-seeded Montreal in five games.

The Flyers won the season series against Pittsburgh, 5-3, but Philadelphia posted four of those victories prior to the All-Star break, before the Penguins really started to click.

The Penguins then won three straight in the series before Philadelphia posted a 2-0 victory on the final day of the regular season.

The Flyers are 3-0 all-time in playoff series against the Penguins with the most recent meeting coming in the 2000 conference semifinals. Philadelphia also fell behind 0-2 in that series, but won the final four outings, including a memorable five-overtime matchup in Game 3.