5 Keys: Flyers at Penguins, Game 2

FLYERS at PENGUINS
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, ATTSN-PT
Pittsburgh leads best-of-7 series 1-0
PITTSBURGH -- The Philadelphia Flyers will try to recover from a lopsided loss when they play the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.

After losing 7-0 in
Game 1
on Wednesday, the Flyers will need a vastly improved effort if they hope to even the series before heading to Philadelphia for Game 3. Pittsburgh would like to carry over its effort from the series opener.
Here are 5 keys for Game 2:

1. Pittsburgh's top line

Led by Sidney Crosby's natural hat trick, the first line of Crosby centering left wing Jake Guentzel and right wing Bryan Rust dominated Game 1. Crosby and Rust each finished plus-5 and Guentzel had four points (one goal, three assists).
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan matched that line against the Flyers' line of center Sean Couturier between left wing Claude Giroux and right wing Michael Raffl. Giroux and Couturier were on the ice for four Pittsburgh goals and Raffl was on for three.
Sullivan will likely try to match those lines again.
"I think Sid's the best 200-foot player in the game," Sullivan said, "so if he's on the ice against another opponent's best players, we're certainly not afraid of that. We embrace that challenge."

2. Matt Murray

Murray is riding a playoff shutout streak of 206:26 since allowing a goal to Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson at 13:08 of the second period in Game 4 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. If he doesn't allow a goal Friday, Murray would become the first goaltender in NHL history with four consecutive playoff shutouts.
"[The shutout streak] is definitely something you take pride in," defenseman Chad Ruhwedel said. "But it's not something we focus on. We just go out and focus on the little things."

3. Philadelphia's goaltending

Flyers coach Dave Hakstol is expected to stick with goalie Brian Elliott after pulling him at 9:01 of the second period Wednesday. Elliott allowed five goals on 19 shots; Petr Mrazek surrendered two on 14 shots in relief.
Elliott, who is 15-23 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 42 playoff games (40 starts), must respond well if the Flyers are to win Game 2.
"[Elliott] just battles," Giroux said. "He's a talented goalie. He battles and he does a good job for us all year. We have a lot of confidence in him."

4. Shayne Gostisbehere

Philadelphia's defense as a whole had a rough outing in Game 1, but Gostisbehere's poor performance might have been the most eye-opening.
Gostisbehere did lead Philadelphia with five shots on goal, but he finished minus-4. He was also the third of three players Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin blew past on his way to a highlight-reel goal at 14:09 of the first period.
"They beat us 7-0. It really hurts," Gostisbehere said. "It's obviously embarrassing, but it's only 1-0 in the series and there's a lot of hockey to be played."

5. Kris Letang

After a disappointing regular season, Letang returned to form Wednesday. He had an assist, was on the ice for four Penguins goals and played 21:57.
The Penguins won the Stanley Cup without Letang last season, when he underwent season-ending neck surgery, but they're a better team with him back and playing the way he did in previous seasons. He could start by stringing two solid performances together.

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Michael Raffl
Oskar Lindblom -- Nolan Patrick -- Jakub Voracek
Travis Konecny -- Valtteri Filppula -- Wayne Simmonds
Scott Laughton -- Jori Lehtera -- Matt Read
Ivan Provorov -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim -- Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning -- Radko Gudas
Brian Elliott
Petr Mrazek
Scratched: Taylor Leier, Dale Weise, Jordan Weal, Robert Hagg, Johnny Oduya
Injured: Michal Neuvirth (lower body)

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Patric Hornqvist
Conor Sheary -- Derick Brassard -- Phil Kessel
Zach Aston-Reese -- Riley Sheahan -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Justin Schultz
Jamie Oleksiak -- Chad Ruhwedel
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Matt Hunwick, Dominik Simon, Josh Jooris
Injured: Carter Rowney (upper body)

Status report

The Flyers, who didn't hold a morning skate Friday, are expected to keep their lines and defense pairs intact from Wednesday. … Rowney skated on his own before practice Thursday and wore a no-contact jersey during the morning skate Friday but will not play. He missed the final 10 games of the regular season after being injured March 15. Murray and Maatta participated in the morning skate after taking maintenance days Thursday.