When we last left the cousins of brotherly love, the Flyers coach Peter Laviolette was perched on the boards yelling less than friendly salutations towards the Penguins bench, a verbal and visual exchange that netted the Flyer's coach a 10,000 dollar fine, took 7,500 dollars out of the pocket of Penguins assistant Tony Granato and formed the talking points for Mike Milbury to once again find himself in the dog house.
All of that from one game, a 6-4 loss to the Flyers, that set the scene for the playoff series to come.
Really, the season finale between the Flyers and the Penguins didn't actually need any extra drama, but like the iconic scene from the movie SlapShot, the Penguins have a surprise addition to the line up for their Saturday afternoon reunion with their cross state rivals.
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With the teams set to take to the ice, we re-introduce Steve MacIntyre to the NHL. MacIntyre, a forward with the Penguins farm club at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was last seen in the NHL in January, having played a grand total of 11 games for the Pens over the course of the 2011-12 season.
And he comes back to the big leagues well rested, having just returned from an AHL suspension after this bit of mayhem in a game against the Springfield Falcons on March 12th.
Of course MacIntyre may just be a players bench decoration on Saturday, fixed to the pine but ready we guess if hostilities deteriorate to the point of last weeks levels.
The addition of MacIntyre to the roster for Saturday's game has certainly caught the attention of the Pittsburgh media which when not busy calling the Flyers a rather boorish lot, finds time to refer to the Penguins latest move as the wow factor.
Of course the viewpoint from Western Pennsylvania did not go un-answered in Philly, where the journalists at times seem to be an extension of the club they cover.
Flyers, Pens trade verbal shots
Flyers-Pens in tune-up
Saturday's quirk of the schedule certainly has hockey fans awaiting developments, wondering if it will be a carry over from last Sunday's antics, or if all the bluster of the last few days will prove to be anti-clamtic by the time the regular season has come to an end later tomorrow night.
We imagine the incessant banging of the drums and the Penguins roster move has also caught the attention of the NHL head office, which seems to have had the Penguins high on their agenda this week
So far, the majority of the decisions have favoured Pittsburgh, it will be well worth watching how things develop to see if that theme continues over the weekend.
Globe and Mail-- Flyers, Penguins prepping for 'weird' regular-season finale
Canada.com-- Penguins Flyers arming up for annual playoff Battle of Pennsylvania
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