Well, that was nice...

The only thing that's truly decisive about the first three games of this opening round series is that the home crowd has been the single biggest motivating factor for either side.

Game 1 in Pittsburgh and Game 3 yesterday here are the primary exhibits. In both contests, the winning team used a spike in confidence and energy from the fans to boost their own energy levels and assume control of the contest.

The Flyers, perhaps even more motivated by their 0-2 series deficit, seized the momentum more quickly and decisively than the Pens did in their first two wins last week.

However, what the orange and black didn't do, unlike their opponents, is keep the pressure on and prevent their foes from striking back.

It's totally conceivable now that this series will go the seven-game limit, with each team winning all their games on home ice. That, of course, leaves the Flyers one game short.

But if that ends up being how the script is written, at least it provides a better result than all the doom and gloom for certain quarters after the club went down 0-2 after Friday's OT loss.

At least logically speaking, if you're a team down 0-2, who wins your two games at home, wouldn't the momentum be on your side despite going away for Game 5?

Still...the Flyers have never won a series when losing the first two games on the road. They have only rebounded from 0-2 deficits twice, in 1977 against Toronto and 2000 against Pittsburgh - both times after losing the first two on home ice before reeling off four straight wins.

It's rare anymore that the home team dominates in each and every game in front of a friendly crowd, but right from the first drop of the puck, the masses in both cities have had serious influence. This is the way it should be with two young clubs.

Now that the Flyers are playing to a 2-1 deficit, things automatically look brighter, but it's not a lock by any means that the Pens are sunk.

Remember January 13? Or February 21? Crushing losses at times when the Flyers let Pittsburgh dictate play instead of using home ice to greater advantage. Crosby et al are perfectly capable of doing so again.

Take away the empty netter and the early two goals and the Penguins played to a 3-3 tie during the middle stretches - the times which are really more important than all the cliched shop talk about not allowing a goal in the last minute, or first minute of any period, or whenever it's a bad omen to see the other team score.

All it takes is one dumb mistake, one hitch in the on-ice communication, for things to come crumbling down and see a 2-2 series become 3-1.

If the Flyers are smart, they will find a way to let the emotion of the opening minutes bleed into the rest of the game. The Penguins have too many game-changing skaters for them to let up at any time.

As far as my prediction for the series goes, this is the most likely time for Philly to pick up that second win.