37.94 – Average PIM/game in games played between the Flyers and the Penguins since the beginning of the 2012 season (including playoffs)
The Philadelphia Flyers hate the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pittsburgh Penguins hate the Philadelphia Flyers. Fans of both teams can, and will, say the same. Games between these two teams are never boring, and, over the past three years, that’s never been more evident. Exactly how evident, you ask?
Here’s a season-by-season look at how games between the Flyers and the Penguins have shaped up with regards to penalties:
2011-2012: 6 games, 39 PIM/game (32, 12, 44, 32, 62, 53)
2012 Playoffs: 6 games, 52 PIM/game (8, 16, 158 – yeah, I think you all know which game this was – 98, 16, 16)
2012-2013: 4 games, 23.50 PIM/game (16, 48, 8, 22)
2013-2014: 2 games, 21 PIM/game (16, 26)
Things really came to a head in that 2012 playoff series, huh? That series had an average of 52 penalty minutes/game. 52! Even Hulk Hogan got involved.
Relatively speaking, games between the two teams have settled down somewhat over the past two seasons, but that doesn’t mean that things can’t erupt at any given moment. With the Flyers about to kick off a crucial 12-game stretch, a stretch in which all 12 teams they play currently sit in a playoff position, things are bound to get a little intense between these two teams. The Flyers need to start off on the right foot.
The first game of this important home-and-home (well, for the Flyers at least) between the Flyers and the Penguins is on Saturday afternoon. We’ll have ‘Five Questions’ with our friends over at Pensburgh up tomorrow and our game preview out Saturday morning. Get ready.
