PITTSBURGH - If the Pittsburgh Penguins don't realize the enviable position they're in, the large NHL standings board in the middle of their dressing room should tell them.

Only two Eastern Conference teams are listed, with the conference finals results in bright red numbers: Penguins 3, Flyers 1.

For the Penguins, it's one victory to go to play for the Stanley Cup, a large picture of which also is displayed in their locker room.

Only one victory, though the Penguins know Game 5 against the Flyers today is likely to be the most difficult playoff game for them to date. The Penguins could have closed out their intrastate rival Thursday but lost 4-2 after falling behind by three goals and, too, falling into a Flyers-baited trap of focusing on pushing, shoving and punching rather than trying to score goals.

If the Penguins didn't realize how difficult it can be to finish off a team, the Detroit Red Wings showed them by losing Game 5 of the Western Conference finals at home to Dallas 2-1 on Saturday.

Still, this doesn't figure to be the same Flyers team that looked ill at ease in losing Games 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh. Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen (blood clot on left ankle) went through a full practice Saturday and expects to play.

Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn, who was struck by a puck in Game 2, is less confident about playing today but hasn't been ruled out.

Star forward Evgeni Malkin and linemate Petr Sykora, neither of whom has scored a goal since Game 1, sat out with undisclosed illnesses. Crosby downplayed the significance of their absence, saying every player has some ache or pain at this stage of the playoffs.

"We'll see them tomorrow," he said.

The Penguins know what they must do to play better. Namely, stay out of the extracurricular skirmishes they avoided during the first three games but constantly found themselves involved in during Game 4.