Published: May 15, 2008 03:22 pm            

PENS NOTEBOOK | New lines pay off against Penguins

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia coach John Stevens’ decision to switch up his lines paid quick dividends, as Joffrey Lupol scored a little more than eight minutes into the game when his shot deflected off of Penguins defenseman Hal Gill and past goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. It was the first of three goals in the period for the Flyers who won 4-2 in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference finals series on Thursday night at the Wachovia Center. Pittsburgh leads the best-of-7 series 3-1.

Not only that, the Flyers had almost as many shots in the first period (17) as they had in all of Game 3, when they finished with 18.



Numbers game



How dominant have the Penguins been in the playoffs? Heading into Thursday night’s Game 4, only two players had a minus rating. Adam Hall is a minus-1 and Gary Roberts is a -2. Rob Scuderi was a team-best plus-7 while Marian Hossa, Ryan Whitney and Pascal Dupuis were each a plus-6.

Also, defenseman Hal Gill’s assist meant that every Penguins skater who has dressed for a game in the playoffs this season has scored a point.



Back to action



Jordan Staal was happy to get back to hockey.

The 19-year-old forward returned the Wachovia Center Thursday morning for the Penguins’ pregame skate after making a quick trip to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for a funeral.

Staal helped the Penguins take a 3-0 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday and then hopped a jet to Canada to pay his respects to his grandfather, John, who died at age 83.

“I don’t know if you’ve lost anyone close, but it wasn’t easy,” Staal said after a morning skate. “It’s tough. (He) was real close to my whole family, especially his grandchildren. He was an amazing man.”

Staal said he got back to Philadelphia around 11 p.m. Wednesday. The quick trip didn't seem to affect his play on Thursday night, as the youngster scored twice in the Penguins' loss.

The quick trip was made possible by former Penguin Mark Recchi, Staal’s housemate in Pittsburgh, who helped him secure a private jet for the trip.

“He’s helped me out,” Staal said. “He’s an unbelievable guy. He’s helped me out so much throughout my career. He’s such a great friend to me.”

Staal’s older brother Eric, who plays for the Carolina Hurricanes, left the Canadian team in the World Hockey championships to be with his family.

Jordan Staal had said earlier in the week that some things were more important than hockey, but at the same time, he was happy to get on the ice with his teammates today.

“Once we were on the ice, it was definitely a great feeling just to get out there and finally get back to what I enjoy,” he said. “It was kind of a breather, just being out there.”



Goalies stick together



Crease questions?: There has been plenty of controversy surrounding a call Wednesday in the Western Conference finals, but Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t about to complain about it.

The ruling that wiped out a goal by Detroit’s Loui Erickson because it was ruled that Tomas Holmgern interfered with Dallas goalie Marty Turco, even though replays appeared to show that Holmgren wasn’t in the crease.

“As a goalie, I don’t mind those,” Fleury said with a laugh. “I think everybody saw that he wasn’t in the crease.”

Fleury, who is 11-2 in the playoffs, defended how the crease calls have been made in the postseason.

“It’s up to the referee to make the call,” he said. “I think they’ve done all right all playoff long.”

        

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