Game 4 Win Has Penguins' Fans Cautiously Hopeful
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins emphatic win in Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night brings the series back here to Pittsburgh for Game 5 Friday night.
The Pens are still facing elimination, but fans are slowly and cautiously beginning to believe again.
Game 4 was supposed to be the end of it, the close of the Penguins season after a short-lived and underachieving playoff run.
But it didn't work out that way, and now there's more confidence amongst the team and certainly amongst their fan base.
"We saw what they were capable of doing the whole time," said one fan.
"I was predicting, I was hoping it would be a high scoring game," added another fan.
Sure, but a 10-3 total destruction of the Flyers in Philly in a do or die Game 4? Who really saw that coming?
"They had nowhere to go but up," says one fan.
And up they went, evidenced no more then by the play of the recently much-maligned Penguins' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Flower, as he's also known, bloomed into the outstanding netminder he'd been much of the season.
"He needed to get that confidence, and you could see that smile there," said one fan.
While on the other end, the Flyers two goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky were humbled, giving up five goals each.
And isn't it funny, a few days ago Penguins' center Jordan Staal was the grist of potential post-season trade rumors. But in Game 4, with the season on the line, he netted a hat trick, leading the Penguins to victory.
So, now it's back home to Pittsburgh for Game 5.
Once again, it could all end Friday night at CONSOL Energy Center, or it could be the second step in one of the great comebacks in Pittsburgh sports history.
"Anything can happen," said one fan. "Twenty minutes at a time and they can do this."
RELATED LINKS:
Penguins Hammer Flyers In Game 4, 10-3 (4/18/12)
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