Penguins

PITTSBURGH - The Flyers, coming off their most lopsided victory of the season, get a reality check Wednesday night when they face the streaking Penguins in Pittsburgh. It will be the final stop on a season-high six-game road journey, one in which the Flyers are 2-3, including Monday's 7-0 rout of the New York Islanders. The victory over the Islanders, the Flyers (7-9-1) realize, won't mean much if they don't carry the momentum into Pittsburgh (11-5), which entered Tuesday atop the Eastern Conference.

They looked listless on the ice. Their practice yesterday had less energy than a rolling blackout. And the Penguins sounded like a beaten team, too. Outwardly, it appeared that the New Jersey Devils have planted an element of doubt in Pittsburgh's ability to win the Eastern Conference finals, which continue today at Mellon Arena with the Devils holding the edge, two games to one. Is the Penguins' confidence wavering? "Not really," said Mario Lemieux, who hesitated before answering and appeared sullen.

THE PITTSBURGH Penguins honored their past yesterday, unveiling a bronze statue outside Consol Energy Center showcasing the singular talents of Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Then the Penguins went out and showed the present looks pretty good, too. Pascal Dupuis scored twice and had an assist, and Pittsburgh rallied to beat the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, for a seventh straight victory. "The way we've been playing, we feel like we can come back in every game and we proved it again tonight," Dupuis said.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, a.k.a. Team Sizzle, will bring an 11-game winning streak into the Wells Fargo Center for Sunday's 12:30 p.m. contest against the Flyers. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have returned from injuries, bolstering the Penguins' already-dynamic lineup. "They seem to be rolling through the league right now, so isn't that exciting?" coach Peter Laviolette said after the Flyers' 3-2 shootout loss in Boston on Saturday. "Coming into our building. Life's good.

Forward Alexandre Daigle, who walked away from hockey 2 years ago at age 25 before trying out with Pittsburgh this year, signed a contract with the Penguins yesterday. Daigle signed a 1-year deal worth $700,000 and could receive bonuses depending on his performance. A No. 1 draft pick for Ottawa in 1993, Daigle never achieved the stardom projected for him. The Montreal native played in 458 games with Ottawa, the Flyers, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers, recording 100 goals and 141 assists before retiring in 2000.

Already riding a big winning streak, the Penguins' quest for the franchise's fourth Stanley Cup received a rocket-fueled boost late Wednesday night when general manager Ray Shero acquired six-time all-star forward Jarome Iginla from Calgary. All it took was the rights to a couple of prospects and a 2013 first-round draft pick, a pittance for a future Hall of Famer still searching for his first championship after 16 seasons in western Canada. Iginla did not suit up for Wednesday night's game against Colorado - snapping a streak of 441 consecutive games played - and waited for the phone to ring.

So much for talk that a team as young as the Penguins couldn't advance this far in the Stanley Cup playoffs. So much for the speculation Marian Hossa couldn't score big postseason goals. So much for the New York Rangers, too, whose decided edge in experience meant nothing in a five-game series in which the Penguins' superior talent made the difference. Hossa scored his second goal of the game 7 minutes, 10 seconds into overtime yesterday and the Penguins rallied after giving up a two-goal lead to beat the visiting Rangers, 3-2, and advance to the Eastern Conference final against the Flyers.

Alex Ovechkin disappeared, at least as much as the game's most dominant scorer can, and suddenly the Washington Capitals are in a familiar position against the Penguins, losing their grip on a playoff series that seemed to be theirs. Pittsburgh shook off an opening-minute Washington goal, then scored three times in less than 12 minutes in the first period, from Sergei Gonchar, Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin, and beat the Capitals 5-3 last night to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2. The Capitals won't get much time to try to regain any confidence they lost by losing twice in Pittsburgh, not with Game 5 back in Washington tonight.

If this goes on much longer, the Flyers might just erect bronze statues of fallen Penguins all around the Spectrum. You know, string a line of 40 around the building, and add one every time Pittsburgh leaves the place without a victory. When it gets to 66, put up a bust of Mario Lemieux. Forget Kate Smith. God Bless the Penguins, because when the Flyers are ailing the most, all they really need is a visit from Pittsburgh. Once again, the Penguins have completed an NHL season without a victory in Philadelphia.