5 Keys: Penguins at Flyers, Game 6

PENGUINS at FLYERS
3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS
Pittsburgh leads best-of-7 series 3-2
PHILADELPHIA --The Pittsburgh Penguins will have a second chance to close the Eastern Conference First Round with a win in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

However, they will be without center Evgeni Malkin, who was injured in Game 5, a 4-2 win by the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena that extended the series.
RELATED: [Complete Penguins vs. Flyers series coverage]
The road team has won four straight games, including the Penguins' victories at Philadelphia in Games 3 and 4.
Here are 5 keys for Game 6:

1. Malkin's health

Malkin left the ice after getting tangled with Flyers center Jori Lehtera with 3:35 remaining in the first period of Game 5. Lehtera appeared to fall on Malkin's left leg, but the Penguins center returned to start the second period and played 20:22. However, he didn't practice Saturday and was listed as a game-time decision before being scratched..
Riley Sheahan will take his spot on the second line, between left wing Carl Hagelin and right wing Phil Kessel.

2. Provorov will play

Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov crashed into the boards shoulder-first seconds before center Sean Couturier scored the game-winning goal with 1:15 remaining in the third period of Game 5. Provorov stayed out for the next shift but left after 23 seconds, and the two passes he attempted were far softer than usual.
Philadelphia had no update on his condition Saturday, but he took part in the warmup. He played a personal NHL-high 30:07 in Game 5, and leads the Flyers in ice time during the series at 25:43. He also leads the League in shorthanded ice time per game during the postseason (5:28) and also plays the point on the second power play. He's arguably Philadelphia's most indispensable player.

3. Better home play

The Flyers were outscored 10-1 in losing Games 3 and 4 of the series; in their past five postseason games at Wells Fargo Center, they're 1-4 and have been outscored 18-4.
"Just keep it simple, play our game, don't get worried about putting on a show or what the fans think or react," Couturier said. "Just what we did last game, stick together, stay disciplined."

4. Hornqvist returns

Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist practiced Saturday and wil play Sunday after missing Games 4 and 5 because of an upper-body injury.
"I felt good," he said Saturday. "It's obviously nice to be back with the guys, skating around and get bumped a little bit. Hopefully it'll keep going today and I can play tomorrow."
Hornqvist is expected to play right wing on the top line, with center Sidney Crosby and left wing Jake Guentzel.

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5. Better starts

The team that has scored first has won all five games of the series.
But the Penguins are looking for more than an early goal. Sullivan said he has been disappointed by the way Pittsburgh has started games, especially Game 5.
"It wasn't like [in] the first period we were drastically outplayed," he said. "Having said that, I think we had the opportunity to grab momentum right away and we didn't. … If we bring the game that we brought in the final 40 minutes, then I like our chances."

Penguins projected lineup

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

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Valtteri Filppula -- Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl -- Nolan Patrick -- Travis Konecny
Scott Laughton -- Sean Couturier -- Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read -- Jori Lehtera -- Dale Weise
Ivan Provorov -- Andrew MacDonald
Robert Hagg -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Brandon Manning -- Radko Gudas
Michal Neuvirth
Brian Elliott
Scratched: Oskar Lindblom, Jordan Weal, Taylor Leier, Johnny Oduya, Travis Sanheim
Injured: None

Status report

Malkin was the only player missing from Penguins practice Saturday. … If Hornqvist can't play, Simon would return to right wing on the top line, where he played the previous two games. … Neuvirth was one of three goalies on the ice for the Flyers' optional practice, and said being better on wraparounds was something he wanted to work on. Rust scored the Penguins' first goal of Game 5 on a wraparound.
-- NHL.com correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report