PITTSBURGH (AP) -Before the first puck dropped in the Flyers-Penguins conference finals, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin found themselves being compared by various interviewers to Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, Peter Forsberg and Jaromir Jagr.
Perhaps because neither of Pittsburgh's two marquee stars has yet reached his 22nd birthday, there were no such comparisons yet to Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux.
Pretty heady stuff for two players who have not played for a Stanley Cup, much less won one, though it illustrates the sneaking suspicion throughout the NHL that the league's next-great franchise may be fast emerging in Pittsburgh.
``Pittsburgh is a little different because their three top players are probably unlike anybody else with Crosby, Malkin and (All-Star forward Marian) Hossa,'' said Flyers coach John Stevens, who sends his now short-handed team against Pittsburgh in Game 1 on Friday night. ``I mean, they're almost in a class by themselves.''
In a major setback, the Flyers will be without shutdown defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who has a blood clot in his left ankle that may sideline him for the series. He was expected to be matched against Malkin's line, leaving the Flyers' other top defenseman, Derian Hatcher, to go against Crosby's line.
Timonen's injury changes that and, from a defensive perspective, is the equivalent of the Penguins being without Crosby or Malkin.
``Obviously, you can't replace a player that does what Kimmo does for us,'' general manager Paul Holmgren said.
Stevens' boss, Flyers owner Ed Snider, is irritated the Penguins are prospering from the early draft picks acquired following their four terrible seasons from 2002-06, a span that coincided with the availability of some of hockey's best talent in a quarter-century.
The kind of talent that has teams across the NHL wondering how good the Penguins can be, and for how long, if they can keep their stars healthy and signed.
However, there have been plenty of youthful NHL teams that did not live up to their promise, whose stars somehow burned out or weren't the players they appeared to be early in their careers.
Maybe that's why Crosby and coach Michel Therrien gave similar answers Thursday when asked if the Penguins might be this generation's version of the early 1980s Edmonton Oilers, who went on to win five Stanley Cups.
``Well, we have a lot more to prove, I think, before we can try to put ourselves in that category,'' said Crosby, the 20-year-old captain who will play for his first Cup if the Penguins win four more games. ``But I can see the comparisons with the youth of our team, with the group of exciting players we have, and maybe the style of play.''
A style that Therrien knows the Flyers dissected all week, trying to discover more flaws to exploit and buttons to push in a rivalry series that, for up to two weeks, will create a heated state of hockey in Pennsylvania.
The Flyers and Penguins joined the NHL together in 1967, but this is the first time they've played for a trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
``We're not quite there (with the Oilers) because we haven't won anything yet,'' Therrien said. ``But we're a good bunch of young players that, first of all, are having a fun time.''
Winning eight of nine playoff games creates that kind of fun, an impressive start for a team that, only two years ago, was last in the Eastern Conference overall standings.
Remarkably, the Flyers were the conference's worst only a season ago but, after a swift rebuilding job, have eliminated NHL scoring champion Alex Ovechkin and Washington (seven games) and conference regular season champion Montreal (five games).
The Flyers won five of eight from Pittsburgh during the season, showing no sign of being awed by Crosby, last year's scoring champion, or Malkin, who was No. 2 in scoring this season.
``We've got guys here who have played big games,'' Jason Smith said. ``We've got to take it and remember this (opportunity) doesn't come very often.''
A bad loss to the other may have indirectly resulted in each team advancing this far.
The Flyers ended the regular season 7-1-1 after a 7-1 loss to Pittsburgh on March 16 put them in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Similarly, the Penguins were 15-13-2 following an 8-2 loss in Philadelphia on Dec. 11, but have since gone 40-15-6, counting the postseason.
With both teams possessing multiple lines that can score and strong power plays, the team that stays out of the penalty box will likely win the series.
Consider this: In their four regular season games, Western Conference finalists Dallas and Detroit combined for 26 power plays and two power play goals. In their eight games, the Flyers and Penguins had a remarkable 86 power plays and 20 power play goals.
``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.''
If there's a common theme between Stevens and Therrien - who, coincidentally, faced each other twice in AHL playoff series - is that it's as important to stay under control as it is to control the other team.
``We want to be aggressive. We want to play with urgency and intensity,'' Stevens said. ``But if we're undisciplined, we're just neutralizing ourselves.''
