I wondered about Asham, too. I thought he might have gotten hurt … it looked like he was dinged up after colliding with a Flyer in the first period. I guess (hope) he’s okay. We need his passion and fire.

I have no idea why Bylsma would shorten his bench … especially when the Pens appeared to be gassed from their early exertions. And I couldn’t agree more. The Pens HAVE to play the fourth line. They may not score a lot of goals, but Adams, Asham and Vitale provide a ton of energy and pressure on the fore check, not to mention a healthy dose of aggression. They were a key (and underrated) factor during the Pens 11-game winning streak in February and March.

Speaking of Bylsma, I don’t think he coached one of his better games. After Briere scored his offsides goal to make it 3-1, you could see the Flyers start to come on. He should’ve called a timeout to interrupt Philly’s momentum and gather his troops. If not then, than certainly after the Flyers made it 3-2.

While I think he’s a great coach, motivation-wise, I still worry about Bylsma’s ability to make adjustments. His answer for everything seems to be “we need to play our game.” Philly’s been doing the same thing to us all year, and so far I don’t see any significant changes in the way we’re playing. Especially in the defensive zone, where the Flyers have us chasing the puck and out of position most of the time.

I guess we’ll see what happens tonight. LET’S GO PENS!