PITTSBURGH -- Veteran rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd took over Mellon Arena for a concert Saturday.
Today, the Pittsburgh Penguins hope it'll once again be Sweet Home Mellon Arena.
Pittsburgh's captain Sidney Crosby starts a drill with coach Michel Therrien at practice on Saturday.
"We feel comfortable in this building," Penguins head coach Michel Therrien said Saturday after practice. "We like to play in front of our fans. They've been great and we've got their support.
"That's why we're glad Game 5 will be at home (CBC, 2 p.m. CT). We're a tough team to play at home."
The Penguins are a perfect 7-0 at Mellon Arena in the playoffs and haven't lost in regulation at home in more than three months, dating back to Feb. 13.
"I think we have great fans, and I think that has something to do it," said Penguins defenceman Ryan Whitney. "This place is hard to play in for the other team. The fans are right on top of you, it's loud. We get a lot of emotions from our fans. We score a goal and it's so loud, we seem to get rolling when we get one or two quick.
"I don't think other teams like coming here at all."
A win today over the Philadelphia Flyers would wrap up the Eastern Conference final in five games and clinch Pittsburgh's first Stanley Cup final berth in 16 years. They can smell it.
"I think we'll have a good start, we seem to come out real hard here in the first period with our fans behind us," said Whitney. "We're looking to go to the Stanley Cup final, to win it in front of our own fans would be pretty special. We'll be better (today), we know that."
Linemates Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora raised eyebrows Saturday when they skipped practice.
"They should be ready... " said Therrien. "They should be there. It's sickness. We believe at this time of year, rest sometimes can be more important than practice."
Captain Sidney Crosby said not to read too much into it.
"Just battling a cold, I guess," said Crosby. "So they want to make sure they rest their bodies."
The Flyers hope to get at least one if not both of their top defencemen back from injury. Of the two, Kimmo Timonen (blood clot) seems more likely than Braydon Coburn (eye).
"Kimmo looks like he's going to be ready to go," Flyers head coach John Stevens said Saturday. "Cobe, I'm still not sure."
Timonen, a hugely important part of Philadelphia's transition game and special teams, says he'll be back.
"I think I'm ready to go," said Timonen. "Now it's up to coaches. But personally I'm ready to go."
His teammates were pumped by the news.
"Huge for us," said Flyers captain Mike Richards. "He's our best defenceman. He's the quarterback on our power play. He kills penalties. He's really one of the best leaders in our dressing room, and maybe even in the league.
"He does so many great things out there. The confidence that we have in him back there, it just echoes throughout the dressing room."
Timonen, who hasn't played in the series, downplayed his likely return.
"I'm just one piece of the puzzle," said the popular Finn. "Hopefully I can do my job out there and help the team somehow, and hopefully we'll be able to win the game. That's what matters to me."
Coburn, who took a shot in the face early in Game 1, isn't sure he'll play.
"Right now, I'm just kind of dealing with some things with the eye and stuff like that," he said. "So every day it's been getting better.
-- The Canadian Press
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