(My Sportsbook) - A few months ago a trip to the postseason seemed in jeopardy for the Penguins, but the way Pittsburgh played down the stretch it appears that a second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Finals isn't out of the question.

Pittsburgh struggled through the first half of the season and is one of five teams in this year's playoffs that fired its coach during the course of the 2008-09 campaign. The Pens made their coaching change after 57 games when Michel Therrien was axed and replaced by Dan Bylsma.

The Penguins responded in a big way under Bylsma, going 18-3-4 after the firing. That stretch brought Pittsburgh from outside the playoff picture all the way to the fourth seed in the East.

A quick glance at the NHL scoring leaders list this season will go a long way in revealing what makes Pittsburgh tick. The Penguins had two of the top three scorers in the league with Evgeni Malkin claiming the Art Ross Trophy with 113 points and captain Sidney Crosby finishing behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin with 103 points on the year.

Malkin and Crosby are similar players in the sense that they are known more for their playmaking ability than their scoring touch. The former had a career-high 35 goals this year to go with 78 assists, while Crosby had 33 tallies and 70 helpers.

Pittsburgh's lethal combination gives them serious depth at the center position on the top two lines, but Crosby and Malkin get to shine together frequently on the power play. Malkin had 14 goals and 27 assists on the man advantage this year, while the captain had seven markers and 33 assists on the power play.

The Penguins did struggle on the power play overall this year, as they finished 20th in the NHL with a 17.2 percent success rate. However, Pittsburgh rebounded once defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who sat out until mid-February following shoulder surgery, returned to the ice.

Gonchar is the key to Pittsburgh's power play and had 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) in 25 games this season. The Russian blueliner had five of those goals and 13 points on the man advantage.

Also helping boost Pittsburgh's power play as well as the team's overall offensive prowess were a pair of trade deadline acquisitions. Chris Kunitz, who came over in a deal with Anaheim, was a revelation for the Pens as he scored seven goals and added 11 assists in 20 games.

The Pens also acquired veteran winger Bill Guerin in a trade with the New York Islanders and the 38-year-old had 12 points (5g, 7a) in 17 games with his new club.

Pittsburgh's goaltending duties fall to former No. 1 overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury, who at 24 years old is in his fourth season as the club's top netminder.

Fleury had an average season for the Pens this year, going 35-18-7 with a 2.67 goals against average and .912 save percentage. In 25 career playoff games, the Quebec native has a 15-10 record with a 2.30 GAA and .922 save percentage.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (5th seed, East)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 44-27-11

2008 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Washington 4-3 in conference quarterfinals; defeated Montreal 4-1 in conference semifinals; lost to Pittsburgh 4-1 in conference finals

(My Sportsbook) - The Flyers open this year's postseason against the club that ended their deep playoff run a year ago. If Philadelphia continues to play the way it did down the stretch it doesn't stand to last nearly as long this season.

After putting together three straight wins from March 20-23, the Flyers failed to win back-to-back games again the rest of the way and lost six out of 10 games during the stretch.

Despite that slide, Philadelphia still had a chance to gain the fourth seed in the East and home-ice advantage in this series right up until the final day of the regular season when a 4-3 home loss to the New York Rangers gave Pittsburgh the edge.

Still, the Flyers 2008-09 campaign could have been a lot worse, considering the club didn't record a win until its seventh game of the season.

While the Penguins strength is in the dynamic duo of Crosby and Malkin, Philadelphia's biggest asset is its balanced scoring attack. The Flyers boasted a league-best six scorers with 25 or more goals and four of those players ended with 30 markers or better.

Leading the way for Philadelphia on offense was centerman Jeff Carter, who was second in the NHL with 46 goals and also led the Flyers with 84 points. It was a career year in every respect for the 24-year-old after posting his previous personal best with 29 goals and 53 points in 2007-08.

Mike Richards also had the best offensive campaign of his NHL career in his first season as the Flyers captain, although he didn't break out nearly as much as Carter. Richards had 30 goals and 80 points, raising the personal bests of 28 tallies and 75 points he had recorded in the previous season.

Richards is also making a name for himself as one of the best defensive forwards in the game and he was the most dangerous short-handed scorer in the league this year with seven goals on the penalty kill.

Having a healthy Simon Gagne back this season was also a boost for the Flyers as he recorded 34 goals and 74 points after playing in just 25 games last year while battling a severe concussion.

Scott Hartnell (30 goals), Mike Knuble (27) and Joffrey Lupul (25) also had very productive seasons for the Flyers in 2008-09. Also, Danny Briere, who played in just 29 games during an injury-plagued campaign, was dangerous when healthy as he recorded 11 goals and 14 assists.

While scoring depth is a strong suit for the Flyers, goaltending is another story altogether. Philadelphia's No. 1 netminder Martin Biron had an up-and- down season and ended with a 29-19-5 record. The former Buffalo backstop also sported a lofty 2.76 GAA and a respectable .915 save percentage.

Aiding Biron at the back end is a young, but talented defensive corps that is led by steady veteran Kimmo Timonen, who at 34 years of age is seven years older than the next oldest Flyers defenseman. Timonen, along with Richards, plays the point on a potent power play and recorded 43 points (3g, 40a) in 77 games this season.

At 24 years old, Braydon Coburn is one of the brightest defensive stars in the NHL and put together a fine season in 2008-09 with seven goals and 21 assists in 80 games. Like Timonen, Coburn is an asset on the power play and is effective on both ends of the ice.

Randy Jones, Matt Carle, Andrew Alberts and Ryan Parent add depth on the Flyers blue line.

Philadelphia placed sixth in the league in both special teams categories this year. The Flyers scored on 22.5 percent of their power-play opportunities and killed off 83 percent of their penalties.

MATCHUP

The Battle of Pennsylvania has been owned by the Penguins in recent years with Pittsburgh taking four of six meetings during this year's regular season. The Pens have come out on top in seven of 10 and 15 of the last 22 meetings between the clubs and that doesn't count Pittsburgh's five-game series win over the Flyers in last year's conference finals.

The biggest problem for the Flyers against the Penguins is, not surprisingly, the club's inability to stop Crosby and Malkin. Crosby has 46 points (20g, 26a) in 26 career games against Philly, while his Russian counterpart has 13 goals and 18 assists in 18 tests against the Flyers.

Part of Philadelphia's problems down the stretch was its inability to put together a consistent defensive effort and those problems will likely be compounded by playing a potent offensive team such as Pittsburgh.

Philadelphia had been undefeated in playoff series against the Penguins up until last season, as it had won the first three postseason clashes between the Keystone State rivals.

Expect the recent trend to continue as Crosby and Malkin power the Penguins to an easy opening-round win.

My Sportsbook predicted outcome: Penguins in 5