Hate rules when Pens, Flyers skate

A Pennsylvania team will play for the Stanley Cup.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Some NHL rivalries evolve from a big game, a major trade or a short-lived scuffle, then fade after a few years. Not the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This rivalry is real, perpetual, and, mostly, downright nasty.

Evolving from state lines and bloodlines — and it’s mostly bad blood — it’s been one of the league’s most heated since the teams were born in 1967. Now, for the first time, it will decide a Stanley Cup finalist as the Pennsylvania teams meet in the Eastern Conference finals beginning tonight.

“All the games [during the season] were heated and now we go into the conference finals and I’m expecting it to be heated again, and even more,” Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen said.

Kimmo Timonen likely will miss the series because of a blood clot in his ankle. Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren said Timonen was hit with a shot in Game 4 against Montreal.

Mimicking their locations in diametric corners of one of the East Coast’s biggest states, the teams are polar opposites. The Penguins haven’t advanced to the finals since 1992. The Flyers’ most recent appearance was 1997.

The Penguins, much like the days when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were the team’s big names, are flash and dash, speed and flair with scorers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa. They’ve won eight of nine in the playoffs and all five home games, a relatively easy start for a youthful team whose three best players, including goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, are 23 or younger.

The Flyers, while possessing multiple scoring lines like Pittsburgh, are rightful descendants of the franchise’s fabled Broad Street Bullies, winning through toughness and intimidation. They muscled up to the Penguins, pushed them around, distracted them with some success while winning five of eight during the season.

A season series that, on Dec. 11, required only 20 seconds for the first fight to start.

Asked when the rivalry might kick in again, Penguins forward Ryan Malone said, “Probably right when the puck drops, I think.”

In their eight games, the Flyers and Penguins combined for 86 power plays and 20 power-play goals.

“I think the only difference in us that you’ll see from the regular season is that no one wants to take that extra one,” Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi said. “It’s OK to be physical, it’s OK to play the body, it’s OK to play hard, but no one wants to take that extra penalty.”