Winners and sinners of the Flyers week:
BEST
Shot: Claude Giroux 32 seconds into Game Six, low stick side.
Shot that didnt go in: Giroux overpowered Marc-Andre Fleury with a power-play one-timer. Scott Hartnell found the rebound in a pile and pushed in goal No. 2.
Hit: By Giroux on Sidney Crosby, in Technicolor 10 feet in front of the Penguins bench, only five seconds in.
Pass: Danny Briere to Scott Hartnell across the crease for power-play goal in Game 5. Amazing how many two-on-ones they ended up with on power plays. Puck movement was dazzling.
Save: Glove by Ilya Bryzgalov on James Neal 25-footer at 3-2 in Game 5. Flyers checked so well, blocked so many shots, Bryzgalov did not have to make a superior save in Game 6.
Game Six performances (next to Girouxs, of course): On a defense minus Chris Pronger, Andrej Meszaros and Nick Grossmann, Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle played like shutdown guys against the most dangerous one-two tandem in the league.
NHL
Prison door slamming on a comeback by a former champion since 1987 against the Islanders: This one. Twenty-five years ago, Islanders had gotten it to back 3-3 from 3-1 and Flyers blew them out with two first period shorthanded goals in 44 seconds and won that one too, 5-1.
One-man dominance by a Flyer forward since Keith Primeau in the 2004 run to Game 7 of the conference final: For one round, Giroux. Penguins have the acknowledged two best centers in the NHL in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Giroux outplayed them both.
Use of a crystal ball by Paul Holmgren: Flyers had Max Talbot and Jaromir Jagr and the Penguins did not.
WORSTPrediction that the Penguins huge advantage in experience would be the difference: Mine. All the Flyers kids played superbly, all the way through Erik Gustafsson in Game 6.
Jay Greenberg covered the Flyers for 14 years for the Daily News and Evening Bulletin. His history of the Flyers, Full Spectrum, was published in 1996. He can be reached at jayg616@aol.com.