Consol Energy

Players to watch FLYERS: Center Danny Briere   He is to the playoffs what Reggie Jackson was to baseball's postseason. Briere has 98 points in 98 career playoff games, and he has 31 goals - including two in Wednesday's opener - in 58 playoff games with the Flyers. PENGUINS: Center Jordan Staal   He gets lost in all the talk about Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but he is one of the Penguins' most important players. Staal's defensive work was eye-opening in the opener as he blanked high-scoring center Claude Giroux, who managed just one shot.

Pascal Dupuis scored twice and had an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied at home to beat the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, on Wednesday night for their seventh consecutive victory. Jordan Staal added a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to a career-best six games and rookie Brad Thiessen stopped 22 shots. The Penguins started the day by unveiling a statue honoring Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux outside Consol Energy Center. The three-time MVP, now the team owner, watched from his box as Pittsburgh won for the 11th time in its last 12 home games to strengthen its hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

THE SOUL seems to be more comfortable on the road than a fleet of truck drivers. After being upset in May by lowly Pittsburgh at the Wells Fargo Center, the Soul returned the favor by thumping the host Power, 59-21, on Saturday at the Consol Energy Center. Philadelphia set a team record for fewest points allowed and improved to 7-5. The Soul is 5-1 away from home. "This is the time of year when you have to get on a roll and start stringing wins together," coach Clint Dolezel said.

PITTSBURGH - The spotlights in the Consol Energy Center were impossibly bright and blinding, flashing just enough in the pregame to reveal the packed Penguins crowd in all white T-shirts. Just a few feet from Ilya Bryzgalov's crease, two mocking Penguins fans were dressed in bear costumes - Bryzgalov said this week he does not fear Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, only bears in the forest. For the Flyers, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals started - mentally and physically - in just about the most hostile way possible.

PITTSBURGH - During each of the previous two seasons, the Flyers ended long winning streaks by the Pittsburgh Penguins. On Sunday night, however, they couldn't complete the trifecta. Tyler Kennedy, who had missed the previous game because of an illness, scored on a tracer from the left circle with 2 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Penguins to their 12th consecutive victory, a 2-1 win over the Flyers at Consol Energy Center. Kennedy fired his shot high and to the short side as goalie Ilya Bryzgalov appeared to be screened.

Former Flyer Joffrey Lupul and Clarke MacArthur scored 4 minutes, 22 seconds apart in the third period as the Toronto Maple Leafs broke open a tie game and spoiled the New York Rangers' return to renovated Madison Square Garden with a 4-2 victory Thursday night. Lupul scored off a rebound in a scrum in front of Henrik Lundqvist to make it 2-1 with his fifth goal of the season, and MacArthur made it a two-goal edge with his first at 6:33. Matthew Lombardi scored his first in the second period, and Mike Brown made it 4-1 in the third.

Soul (1-0) at Pittsburgh (1-0), Friday at 8 p.m. at Consol Energy Center   TV/Radio: NFL Network/ESPN-AM (950) Soul update: They won their season opener at New Orleans when Donovan Morgan scored a late touchdown and Bryan Robinson blocked a potential game-winning field goal. Power update: They won their opener at Orlando even after half the team was fired for threatening a strike just before kickoff. Leaguewide, players are disgruntled about the AFL's lack of benefits and a pay scale in which everyone except the starting quarterback earns $400 per game.

Lauri Korpikoski scored his ninth goal of the season early in the third period to lead the Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. Ray Whitney, a former Hurricanes player, had a goal and assist for the Coyotes. Cal O'Reilly and Rostislav Klesla also scored for Phoenix. Tuomo Ruutu got his team-leading 11th goal for Carolina, while Andreas Nodl and Jiri Tlusty also scored. The Coyotes won for the first time after trailing going into the third period, while Carolina suffered its first loss in regulation after holding a two-period lead.

Sidney Crosby scored in his second straight game and added an assist to help the host Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, on Sunday night. Crosby, who snapped out of a career-long 12-game goal drought Saturday, gave the Penguins some breathing room with a wrist shot by goalie Martin Brodeur early in the third period. Evgeni Malkin also had a goal and an assist for the Penguins to push his points total to 97, tops in the NHL. Pittsburgh has won 10 straight at Consol Energy Center and moved back within a point of the New York Rangers for the top stop in the Eastern Conference.

What: Soul (1-0) at Pittsburgh (1-0) When: Friday, 8 p.m. Where: At Consol Energy Center (16,280) TV: NFL Network Radio: ESPN (950-AM) Soul update: Won its season opener at New Orleans when Donovan Morgan scored a late touchdown and Bryan Robinson blocked a potential game-winning field goal. Power update: Won its opener at Orlando even after half the team was fired for threatening a strike just before kickoff. Leaguewide, players are disgruntled about the AFL's lack of benefits and a pay scale in which everyone except the starting quarterback earns $400 per game.