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PHILADELPHIA — With their NHL playoff series switching to Philadelphia's Wachovia Center, the Pittsburgh Penguins are hearing the same questions they heard in their previous series.
Are you intimidated by the noisy Philadelphia Flyer fans? Is that why you didn't win a game here during the regular season?
The Penguins offer the same answers they did when they went into Madison Square Garden, another nuthouse where they went 0-4 in the regular season.
"No, I think it's great when the fans are into it," Penguins winger Jarkko Ruutu said Tuesday morning after the Penguins' morning skate in preparation for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final. "It's loud, it's good for the fans, it's good for the players."
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Considering the Penguins won their first playoff game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, lost the next but ended the Eastern Conference semi-final in five games, there wasn't much scary about the famed Gallery Gods. Now, with the Penguins holding a 2-0 lead in the conference final before they faced the Flyers on their own ice, they were not ready to admit there are any arenas around the league where it's intimidating to play.
"No I don't think there is any such thing," Ruutu said. "If you're well-prepared and you play as a team, nothing should affect you.
"When you're focused, you don't hear what is happening around you. When fans are emotionally into it, it's loud. But other than that, it's no different than playing at home."
Penguins star Sidney Crosby is usually the target of the fans' verbal warfare. He allows only that it's a "challenge" to play in Philadelphia. He did not care to say what sorts of insults he hears from the Flyers fans but said it does not unsettle him.
"You know, we see these guys a lot during the season, so I think it's something we're more used to maybe than other teams," Crosby said. "But it's definitely always a warm welcome, for sure.
"It's something that you prepare for like you would any other playoff series. Going into another team's building, you just have to be focused on what you have to do and not anything around that."
The Penguins may be missing forward Gary Roberts. He was ill on Tuesday morning and head coach Michel Therrien said a decision on his status will be made before game-time.
The Flyers will be without defenceman Braydon Coburn, who was hit on the left eye by a puck in Game 2 and was cut badly enough to require more than 50 stitches. He will be replaced by rookie Ryan Parent, 21.
