Pens Blank Flyers To Open Season

Pittsburgh stomped on the Flyers last night, 4-0, to open what could be their last season in Steel Town. Fresh off the news that Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie agreed to purchase the team for $175 million, the Penguins showed why they have such a bright future. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, stopped all 40 Flyers' shots he faced in recording his third career shutout. 2005 number one pick -- and one of There It Is' better half's faves -- Sidney Crosby continued his dominance over the Flyers, notching a goal and an assist to bring his total to eight goals and eight assists in just nine games. Also playing in the game was Pittsburgh's first pick in the 2006 draft -- number two overall -- 18-year-old Jordan Staal who did not look out of place on the ice. Throw in injured rookie Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins will have a lineup featuring three number one picks and a number two pick inside of four years. There is good reason to believe Pittsburgh will be a good team in the not to distant future and as much as I would like to see another team in Canada, here's hoping they find a way to stay in the Three Rivers area -- I love Penguins-Flyers games. As for the Flyers, last night could not have been any more dismal unless they didn't bother showing up. An abyssmal 0-for-9 on the power play, the team looked completely lost out on the ice. There was a clear lack of communication as time and time again breakout passes were off the mark and assignments were missed in the defensive end. Confusion was the order of the day, but don't let that completely absolve goalie Robert Esche. At least two of the goals were shots he should've have stopped or shouldn't have been taken in the first place if he'd managed to hang onto the rebound. Also deserving some blame for last night is new captain Peter Forsberg. In 16:39 of ice time, Forsberg was a quiet -2 with no shots on goal and two penalty minutes. This is the exact opposite of what will be required of Forsberg if the Flyers are to make any noise this season. The lone bright spot was Geoff Sanderson's play at the point on the power play. Fans have agonized for years while watching the Flyers with the man advantage and waiting for someone to shoot the puck. That won't be the case anymore as Sanderson isn't afraid to shoot from anywhere on the ice. Sanderson finished with three shots and was even in 16:05 of ice time. As I mentioned in my season preview yesterday, coach Ken Hitchcock will have to play an offense first system with this team. The defense is way too slow and was exposed as such in last night's lost. The Penguins, when they wanted to, were practically skating circles around the defensemen, beating them to loose pucks and slipping with ease out of the corners. With the hated New York Rangers in town for the home opener on Saturday -- the day before the Eagle's Biggest Game Of The Season, man what a weekend for Philadelphia sports -- there's a lot of work for Hitchcock to do. Recaps: Ed Moran -- Philadelphia Daily News Tim Panaccio -- Philadelphia Inquirer Dave Molinari -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette