Penguins renew rivalry with Flyers tonight

Steve Downie racked up his share of penalty minutes as a Flyer and agitated his fair share of Penguins over parts of three seasons in Philadelphia.

Tonight, he will be able to claim both sides of one of hockey’s most intense rivalries when the Penguins play host to the Flyers at 8 p.m. at Consol Energy Center, their first meeting of the season.

“I like being on this side,” Downie said with a grin Tuesday.

Likewise for the Penguins, who signed Downie to a one-year, $1 million deal for this season.

“You know what? When you go into those situations, you’re happy to have the guy on your team,” center Sidney Crosby said. “I think you expect him to play with that same intensity he did against you at that point.

“He’s tough to play against. He makes it known when he’s out there.”

The Flyers lineup in the start of general manager Ron Hextall’s era has not changed dramatically from last season.

Philadelphia traded Scott Hartnell to Columbus in the offseason for R.J. Umberger and is dealing with the absence of veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen, likely out for months with blood clots.

There is one area of extreme change, though. The Flyers (1-2-2) are the least-penalized team in the NHL, with just 12 minor penalties and 35 total penalty minutes, after leading the league in total penalty minutes last season.

The Flyers also no longer employ a bona fide enforcer. Still, Downie doesn’t expect that to translate to a softer, more gentle opponent.

“They’re a physical team and they like to intimidate other teams,” Downie said. “They like to play the body first, so we’ve got to be ready for their compete level. They’re going to come in here and work as hard as they can. We’ve got to match that.”

Defenseman Paul Martin said the rivalry can sometimes produce very different kinds of games.

“I think they’re always good games. They’re either really tight or wide open. Sometimes you don’t know what to expect, but they’re always tough, physical,” he said.

The key, Martin said, is for the Penguins to focus on their possession game.

“They’re a very similar team we’re used to seeing,” said Martin.

“I think for us being able to hang onto the puck a little more and hoping they spend some more time in their zone with the way that we forecheck, to not give up as many opportunities.

“I think that’ll be the biggest thing.”

It will be a first crack at the rivalry for Penguins coach Mike Johnston.

“I’m excited because when you look at an 82-game schedule, I always say some games just blend into the other games,” Johnston said.

“Then some games jump right out at you.

“Heading into the season and looking at games last year between Philly and Pittsburgh, the intensity, the emotion, both in the building and on the ice, I think it just adds to the game,” Johnston said.

No one has to manufacture emotion for this game — a beautiful thing for a coach.

“You don’t want to go into a game and say we’ve got to try and generate some emotion. There’s going to be lots of emotion [tonight],” said Johnston.

“It’s a rivalry and it’s also two teams that have had great battles. So from my perspective I’m really excited about it because as a coach you come into the game and now you know your players are going to have emotion, they’re going to have intensity and now we have to have a good game plan.”