Penguins

When: Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (NBC-SN, 93.3 FM) Records: Flyers (13-16-1, 27 points, 12th place Eastern Conference); Penguins (24-8, 48 points, first place) At stake: The Flyers enter as losers of five of their last eight games and are five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. The Penguins have an 11-game winning streak. . . . Eight of the Flyers' 18 remaining regular-season games are against teams between eighth and 13th place. A good record - say, 6-2 in that stretch - could make up ground quickly.

Arron Asham has left the Flyers and crossed the state to sign a $700,000, 1-year contract with the Penguins. Asham, 32, a physical player who is considered an underrated shooter, had 10 goals, 14 assists and 126 penalty minutes for the Flyers last season, playing mostly on the fourth line. He added four goals and three points in 23 playoff games. Asham signed with the Flyers as a free agent in 2008. In his two seasons with the Flyers, he scored 18 goals with 26 assists and 281 penalty minutes.

THE PENGUINS have four points atop the Atlantic Division. The Rangers and the Flyers have none at the bottom. No, it isn't too early to keep an eye on the standings in this lockout-induced, 48-game sprint to the Stanley Cup playoffs. James Neal scored twice, linemate Evgeni Malkin had three assists, and the Penguins chased Henrik Lundqvist from the net in the second period of a 6-3 victory over the Rangers in New York's home opener Sunday. The Penguins haven't even played a home game.

Chris Conner started his day at practice in Wilkes-Barre and ended it as a top star on Broadway. Just hours after being called up by the Penguins, Conner scored twice to lead Pittsburgh to a 4-2 victory over the slumping Rangers last night in New York. It wasn't the forward's first time on the big stage, as he had a six-game stint with Pittsburgh this season and a bit of a longer run with the Dallas Stars in previous years, but he made the most of this chance. Conner staked the Penguins to a 1-0 lead early in the first period and then netted the winning goal in the third.

WITH PENGUINS captain Sidney Crosby watching from the press box, Washington's Jason Chimera scored off a turnover in the first period and Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves, giving the host Capitals a 1-0 victory last night. It was Pittsburgh's sixth consecutive loss and first shutout of the season. The Penguins have scored only six goals in the skid. The Capitals have won seven of eight at home. Pittsburgh is on its longest losing skid since a 10-game drought in 2006. Crosby was wearing a jacket and tie while stationed in the press box. Still sidelined by concussion symptoms, he hasn't played since Dec. 5, and only now is ready to resume skating.

Pittsburgh coach Eddie Johnston and the Boston Bruins' Brian Sutter agreed that the Penguins got more than they deserved. "We stole one tonight," Johnston admitted after the host Penguins beat the Bruins, 5-4, in overtime last night. "We deserved better," Sutter said. "We did a lot of the things we came in to do. Just look at the shots. We didn't play that well in the first period, but we were good in the second and even better in the third. It's a tough one to lose. " Kevin Stevens scored his third goal of the game, on a power play, with 51 seconds left in overtime as the Penguins improved to 4-0-9 in overtime this season.

MATT MOULSON scored a goal and assisted on another, Evgeni Nabokov stopped 37 shots and the New York Islanders dominated the listless Penguins, 4-1, Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. John Tavares scored for the second straight game for New York while Michael Grabner collected his fourth goal of the season and Casey Cizikas found the net for the first time in his career. It was more than enough to send the Penguins to their third loss in four games. Pascal Dupuis scored with just over a minute remaining to avoid the shutout.

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim made their second trade in as many days yesterday, acquiring left wing Shawn Antoski, a former Flyer, and defenseman Dmitri Mironov from Pittsburgh in exchange for left wing Alex Hicks and defenseman Fredrik Olausson. On Monday, the Mighty Ducks acquired Brian Bellows from Tampa Bay in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Earlier yesterday, the slumping Penguins acquired center Stu Barnes and defenseman Jason Woolley from Florida for center Chris Wells.

Mario Lemieux stayed around for the whole game this time, but Washington coach Jim Schoenfeld didn't. Lemieux, ejected in the second period of Pittsburgh's four-overtime win Wednesday night, scored his first goal of the series as the Penguins topped the visiting Capitals, 4-1, last night, and took a 3-2 playoff series lead. Schoenfeld was escorted off the ice with 1:05 left after two long breaks for fighting. He said he was asked to leave for his own safety after he got in an altercation with Pens assistant Bryan Trottier.

SIDNEY CROSBY was on the ice for three of Pittsburgh's five goals, and defenseman Kris Letang was out there for all of them. The Penguins are suddenly the picture of health, and the NHL's hottest team is making the Eastern Conference playoff race a fight to the finish. Crosby returned from a 40-game absence caused by concussion symptoms, and Letang rejoined the lineup after missing the past five because of the same ailment. That gave the Penguins their most complete lineup in months, and visiting Pittsburgh responded with a thorough, 5-2 victory over the East-leading New York Rangers last night.

Sidney Crosby had his second career playoff hat trick and the host Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, on Friday night to take a two-games-to-none lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brenden Morrow added his first playoff goal in more than five years, Tomas Vokoun made 19 saves, and the Penguins rode their superstar captain to their fourth straight victory. Crosby beat Craig Anderson three times in the game's first 22 minutes, sending the goalie to the bench after stopping 18 of 21 shots.

PAUL MARTIN and Chris Kunitz scored power-play goals and Pascal Dupuis added his sixth goal of the playoffs as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the visiting Ottawa Senators last night, 4-1, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Evgeni Malkin extended his points streak to seven games with a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Tomas Vokoun stopped 35 shots to win his third straight start and top-seeded Pittsburgh never trailed. "We know it's a good start, but it's just like the rest of the playoffs, we know it's just the start," Pittsburgh forward Jarome Iginla said.

Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 shots in his first playoff start in six years and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the visiting New York Islanders, 4-0, Thursday night in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy and Douglas Murray scored during a seven-minute stretch in the second period and Kris Letang added a power-play goal in the third as Pittsburgh moved a step closer to advancing to the second round. The Penguins lead the series, three games to two. Game 6 is Saturday in New York.

John Tavares scored his second goal of the game with 9 minutes, 49 seconds left, and the host New York Islanders tied their first-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night with a wild 6-4 victory. Only the final lead was safe in Game 4. Tavares slammed in his own rebound in front after Brad Boyes fed him following a turnover by Penguins star Evgeni Malkin. It was the Islanders' third one-goal advantage in the game and the one that earned them a 2-2 tie in the highly entertaining series that has featured 5-4 and 6-4 finishes at Nassau Coliseum.

Pascal Dupuis scored twice, Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves, and the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins opened the playoffs with a 5-0 romp over the visiting New York Islanders on Wednesday night. Beau Bennett, Kris Letang, and Tanner Glass also scored for the Penguins, who had no trouble against the upstart Islanders, even with star Sidney Crosby sidelined by a broken jaw. Pittsburgh hardly needed its captain to continue its mastery of the Islanders, who made their first playoff appearance since 2007.

Brenden Morrow scored two goals for the second straight game as the host Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4, Wednesday night to move closer to clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Sutter added two goals for Pittsburgh, and newly acquired Jarome Iginla and Doug Murray also scored for the Penguins, who had little trouble with Montreal despite playing without injured stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots, and Pittsburgh dominated in racing to a quick 4-0 lead.

Beau Bennett and Evgeni Malkin scored 13 seconds apart in the third period and the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title by beating the free-falling Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3, on Tuesday night. Brenden Morrow scored his first goal with the Penguins, Robert Bortuzzo added a goal, and Pascal Dupuis had an empty-netter and two assists. Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for the Penguins, who were without a handful of regulars - including captain Sidney Crosby, James Neal, and Kris Letang - but still had plenty of timely firepower to hand the Hurricanes their club-record eighth straight home loss.

LACING ON skates is going to have to wait. At this point, Sidney Crosby would settle for a meal that didn't require a straw. The Pittsburgh Penguins star and his surgically repaired mouth remain on a liquid diet as he recovers from a broken jaw sustained in a win over the New York Islanders on March 30. The NHL's leading scorer remains sidelined indefinitely and has not been cleared to return to practice. Crosby - sporting a handful of new teeth - spoke on Monday for the first time since taking a puck to the face in the first period against the Islanders when a slap shot from teammate Brooks Orpik was redirected at Crosby's face.

Jussi Jokinen certainly knows how to make an entrance. The newly acquired Pittsburgh forward scored a goal in regulation in his debut and then added the only tally in the shootout as the Penguins edged the New York Rangers, 2-1, on Friday night. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 34 shots and then stoned Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Callahan in the shootout.   Sabres stop Senators Brian Flynn and Jochen Hecht scored third-period goals 12 seconds apart, and the host Buffalo Sabres rallied to beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-2. Buffalo (15-17-6)