Battle of Pennsylvania @ Blogspot: Part 2 !

It was one amazing game put together two storied rivals who absolutely HATE each others guts! Tonight's game would be just another page in that long history.

Before the game even started, Jocelyn Thibault took a shot to the throat in warm-ups and was sent to a local hospital. No word as to the status of his injury, but it is speculated that it is non-threatening. It left only one goaltender to keep the puck out of the net. Marc-Andre Fleury was that man who needed to step up in order for his team to have a chance.

The Flyers were coming off of a disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning! Ken Hitchcock and the other coaches were instructing that Philly needed to change up their game plan and block even more shots! Philadelphia also went with AHL Phantom sensation Antero Nittymaki in the net tonight.

The game was fast and furious leaving it to be a goaltenders show through two periods. Both Fleury and Nittymaki made save after save frustrating all the goal scorers like Peter Forsberg and Sidney Crosby. But Crosby would certainly get welcomed to the Wachovia Center in typical Flyer fashion.

No stranger to rough defense, Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje both harassed Crosby all night. Hatcher hauled down Crosby every chance he got via stick, glove to the face, or slam with the shoulder. Crosby also suffered a split lip requiring stitches. At the end of the second period, Crosby's Penguins were on a powerplay chance. However, Crosby having been pushed around enough fought back long enough to get a Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. That negated the powerplay. During the second intermission, the OLN crew talked to Coach Ed Olczyk about that sudden Crosby outburst.

"It was dealt with," said Olczyk

Crosby would have the last laugh though. He threw a nice pass to Pittsburgh native and teammate Ryan Malone in the opening minutes to the third period. Crosby poked at another chance to put the Penguins up 2-0.

The Flyers weren't about to get shut out on their home ice (darn it). Joni "on the spot" Pitkanen had chipped home two power play goals. The Pens and Flyers both rushed to keep from going into overtime. But the extra session was needed in this case.

Sidney Crosby would take matters into his own hands by taking a long pass with 46.7 seconds left. He went in alone on a breakaway to bury it home along with one amazing victory!

Other Game Notes: Mario Lemieux also did not play due to a stomach flu virus. Turner Stevenson made a "miraculous" comeback from surgery earlier than expected to play in tonight's game.