The Sports Monitor

10-3. Shocking score in quite an entertaining series. It likely would be more entertaining if the Penguins were leading or even tied in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, they trail 3-1 after shellacking the Flyers 10-3 in Game 4. Evgeni Malkin scored twice, Jordan Staal had a hat trick and the Penguins exploded on offense. Marc-Andre Fleury played well in net, too -- at least after the first period. It's just too bad this win, the first in the series if you haven't been paying attention, came in Game 4. If this had happened in the first three games, then I'd give the Pens a shot to rally from 3-1 down. It's nice they get to return home for Game 5. It'd be even better if they won it. A nice 5-1 win, or even better, a shutout, would do wonders after a laugher like Wednesday. At least the Pens aren't going down without a fight.

I had a little more rooting interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins this year than I have in the past. It was nothing special, but for me it was added incentive to follow them in the playoffs this spring. I got to the Consol Energy Center for the first time about a month ago and had excellent seats, just four rows from the ice. Like I said, nothing special, but it felt like I had more of an interest in this year's squad. There was something special about seeing them in person. The Penguins beat the Coyotes that night, playing wonderful defense and getting great goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury. Today, just a day away from Game 4 of the Penguins' series against the Philadelphia Flyers, I wonder what the heck happened to that team I saw a few weeks ago. The team I saw then wouldn't be trailing the Flyers 3-0 and be a good bet to book tee times as soon as Thursday. I was fired up about the postseason. I thought they were a threat, but I wasn't as blinded by loyal...