PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins wont meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. If their paths cross down the line, the theatre should be delicious. As usual. Mark Streits backhanded shot from the right circle caromed between Marc-Andre Fleurys pads 2:10 into overtime as the Flyers beat the Penguins 4-3 on Saturday to assure themselves of a first-round matchup with the Metropolitan Division-rival New York Rangers. Streits 10th goal of the season was the game-winner. "It was another big game, its always a big rivalry," Streit said of the Penguins. "It got heated at the end, a lot of emotions. We wanted that third spot and we got it." Jakub Voracek scored twice for the Flyers, and Claude Giroux added his team-high 28th goal of the season. Ray Emery made 12 saves after replacing injured starter Steve Mason to begin the third period. Mason was held out as a precaution after getting bowled over late in the second period when Pittsburghs Jayson Megna failed to put on the brakes while streaking to the net. Flyers coach Craig Berube expects Mason to be fine, though the play turned an atypically sleepy meeting between the two clubs into something decidedly more lively. There were three goals in the final 5 minutes of regulation, a brief dust-up at the end of regulation that led to a rare 3-on-3 to start overtime, and plenty of pushing and shoving. At one point Philadelphias Scott Hartnell hit Kris Letang from behind just days after Letang returned from a stroke that kept the 2013 Norris Trophy finalist out for more than two months. While Letang called the incident "part of the game," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma was a little more pointed. "Its a guy picking on a guy who had a stroke," Bylsma said. If thats the case, Berube is wondering why Letang is in the lineup at all. "Then (Letang) shouldnt be out there playing, bottom line," Berube said. "Its a stupid comment." Letang gained a measure of revenge when he scored with 36 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, his first goal since Jan. 23. He nearly won it in overtime but Emery made a sharp stick save. Seconds later, the Flyers were celebrating at the other end of the ice when Fleury misplayed Streits innocent-looking backhander. "It was a great pass by (Matt) Niskanen," Letang said of the near miss. "It could have ended it and probably should have." Jussi Jokinen and James Neal also scored for Pittsburgh. Fleury stopped 17 shots and hardly looked sharp while giving up the winner. The Penguins will play either Detroit or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. Philadelphias victory might be a blessing for the Penguins, who lost the season series to the Flyers 4-1 and were shoved out of the playoffs by Philadelphia two years ago. Still, Pittsburgh — which locked up the Metropolitan Division title more than a week ago — saw progress. "I thought we were much better, and for a game that doesnt move us in the standings anywhere, I liked our mindset," said centre Sidney Crosby, who earned an assist to boost his NHL-leading point total to 104. The Penguins spent most of the first two periods tilting the ice but struggled to beat Mason. The NHLs top-ranked, power-play unit couldnt convert during a 5-on-3 advantage early in the second that lasted more than 90 seconds. A one-timer by Neal clanged off the right post, and Mason made a lunging glove save from his belly to deny Beau Bennett. Thrust into action unexpectedly after Mason left the game, Emery was similarly sharp. His best save might have been his last when he denied Letang. "Im just happy that it turned out the right way," Emery said. "It was kind of ugly, but it turned out the right way." NOTES: The game was the 400th behind the bench for Bylsma, who is 252-117-31 since taking over midway through the 2008-09 season. Only Eddie Johnston (516) has coached more games in team history. ... The crowd of 18,673 tied the largest at Consol Energy Center since it opened on Oct. 7, 2010. ... Philadelphia D Hal Gill played 15 minutes in his first game since Dec. 21. Gill had been a healthy scratch in 44 straight games. ... Both teams will end the regular season on Sunday. Pittsburgh will host Ottawa, and the Flyers will face Carolina in Philadelphia. Air Max 1 Goedkoop . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. Nike Air Max Goedkoop . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. http://www.airmax1salenederland.com/ .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. Nike Air Max Goedkoop Bestellen .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. Air Max 1 Nederland . It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak.Playoff hockey begins Wednesday and this years Playoff Payoff once again has the numbers and information to help you win your playoff pool. Click here for TSN.cas 2014 NHL Playoff Payoff, a full team-by-team stats breakdown for your playoff pool prep. When it comes to playoff pools, the basic strategy is simple: pick players from the four teams you think will reach the Conference Finals; that will give the players selected ample opportunity to score enough points for your squad. Its very difficult, if not altogether impossible, to win without having a solid presence among the final four teams because no matter how many points get accumulated in early rounds, if your team runs out of active bodies before the Conference Finals, its going to be extremely challenging to hold the lead. Naturally, the focus will be on top seeds and there is nothing wrong with loading up on players from Boston and Chicago if you can get quality players. At the same time, it needs to be recognized that there is not a huge difference in quality between the rest of the playoff teams, so theres likely going to be plenty of value to be found on lower-seeded teams. That doesnt mean ignoring the blue chip players -- top players on the favourite teams are the most valuable -- but it does suggest that once you have laid the groundwork with players from higher-seeded teams, then there ought to be an opportunity to secure value on lower seeds. There will come a time, at some point in your draft, that you have to decide whether you would rather have the best player on a low seed or a lesser player on a top seed and the answer will probably come by looking at the players youve already selected. BEST PLAYER vs. PLAYER ON BEST TEAM If you can take the best player off a lower seed, and it wont contradict any of your early picks, then its likely a good move. If you dont have representation on a highly-seeded team already, its generally not worth it to start investing in lower-tier players. So, Reilly Smith and Carl Soderberg might offer value when youre picking Bruins, but if they are the best available Bruins by the time you pick, youre likely fighting an uphill battle to beat out teams that have David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Jarome Iginla etc. As an aside, it makes lots of sense to target Bruins because they have a more definitive edge over their Eastern Conference competition, compared to the West where, for example, legitimate Cup contenders Los Angeles and San Jose meet in Round One, and one of them has to lose. It could make more sense, instead, to go for Zach Parise or Mikko Koivu, top players on a lower seed that offer bigger marginal returns if they pull off at least one series upset. INJURIES Just as with the real teams involved, injuries are always a factor in fantasy sports, so its imperative to stay on top of the playing status of top players heading into the postseason, both for the potential line combinations and having some idea who might be filling in if a significant player remains sidelined. NHL teams are notorious for being vague or even dishonest regarding injuries at the best of times, let alone at this point in the season, but you may want to avoid, or at least decrease the value of, guys who are already going into the playoffs with injuries. As the playoffs start, there are a number of high profile players that arent expected to be ready. That list includes: Matt Duchene, Nathan Horton, Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Granlund, Alex Galchenyuk, Chris Kreider, Evgeni Malkin, and Vladimir Tarasenko. Add into that mix, stars that at least have questionable health status after late-season injuries. Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, Ryan McDonagh, Martin Hanzal, T.J. Oshie, David Backes and Ben Bishop have all missed time late in the year and at least some could miss at least some first-round games. PICKING PAIRS Consider doubling-up on line combinations, when thhe value is right.dddddddddddd If you set your sights on Joe Thornton early, youll get all the more enjoyment out of Brent Burns a round or two later. Over the short season of an NHL playoff tournament, a hot line can go a long way and if you happen to pick the right one, that can tilt the results of your pool. TAKE A CHANCE Dont be afraid to make a sleeper pick late in the draft. The small sample size of playoffs lends itself to unexpected results, like Bryan Bickell scoring 17 points last year, Bryce Salvador scoring 14 points in 24 games in 2012 (he had nine points in 82 regular season games), Joel Ward scoring 13 points in 12 games in 2011, Ville Leino tallying 21 points in 19 games in 2010 or many others, from Ruslan Fedotenko to R.J. Umberger to Fernando Pisani, generally unheralded players who have all had double-digit goal totals in a single playoff year. Late in your draft, roll the dice on an unheralded player that might have a decent opportunity. THE NUMBERS Given these basic plans, the following team lists will provide information to help organize your drafting priorities. Each player listed has their points per game listed and thats a general value to start with. Then, look at what the player has done in the later portion of this season. Usually, I break down splits after the All-Star break but, for this year, a look at the pre and post-Olympic splits can reveal some changing roles. If the point totals are higher, maybe its a young player who is taking on more responsibility, or a veteran whose playing situation changed due to trade. Gustav Nyquist, for example, could be held in higher esteem than the standard player that hasnt even scored 50 points. Nyquist was the leagues most dangerous scorer from about mid-January through to the end of the season. The third rate included for each player is their NHL career playoff scoring average. In the vast majority of situations, that number will be lower than players career averages because the playoffs are tighter checking games that involve the best teams. Even some great players have lower career scoring averages in the playoffs because they didnt contribute much early in their career and theyve since emerged as elite postseason perfomers. Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Hossa, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are among the high-profile players that didnt produce early in the playoffs, but have had many productive postseasons since then. By no means should previous playoff production eliminate a player from consideration -- because sometimes a player is labeled as unproven in the postseason, until suddenly he is -- but if a player has made a career of under-performing in the playoffs, the safe play could be to let someone else take that risk or wait an extra round or two before wading into those waters. Power plays rule the postseason so make sure your roster is loaded with players who get time with the man advantage. No one in the Top 20 of last years playoff scoring had zero power play points. Bostons Milan Lucic along with Chicagos Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell each had one power play point. Power play defencemen, in particular, have more value in the playoffs so dont let these players slip by you in the middle-to-later rounds of the draft. Kris Letang, Zdeno Chara, Slava Voynov, Duncan Keith and Paul Martin all hit double figures in scoring in last years playoffs, all with at least four points on the power play. Power play point totals are included as a general guide for which players are most likely to get those man advantage opportunities. Finally, as the postseason approaches and match-ups are set, check out the Fantasy Hockey Update playoff editions, and my blog which will have my playoff picks for more information as you prepare to win your playoff pool. Click here for TSN.cas 2014 NHL Playoff Payoff, a full team-by-team stats breakdown for your playoff pool prep. ' ' '