 The Eastern Conference Final began between the Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers on May 9 . Malkin scored with 7 seconds left in the first period to take a 3 – 2 lead , and extended the advantage with a shorthanded goal in the second period , giving the Penguins a 1 – 0 advantage in the series after Game 1 . In Game 2 , Talbot scored to take the lead in the third period , and Staal added an empty @-@ net goal to give the Penguins a 4 – 2 win and a 2 – 0 series lead . The win was the Penguins ' seventh consecutive home playoff win , a franchise record , improving on a six @-@ game streak in the 1992 playoffs . The Penguins also became only the fifth team to start the playoffs with a 10 – 1 record , and the first since the Detroit Red Wings in 1995 . Game 3 saw the series move across state to Philadelphia ; the Penguins struck quickly with goals from Ryan Whitney and Hossa within the first eight minutes . Hossa added his second goal on an empty net to seal the victory . With the win , the Penguins become the first team since the 1983 Edmonton Oilers to start the playoffs 11 – 1 . The Penguins failed to close out the Eastern Conference Finals with a sweep of the Flyers in Game 4 , losing 4 – 2 . The Flyers jumped out to a 3 – 0 lead in the first period . The Penguins fought back getting two goals from Jordan Staal in the third period , but Joffrey Lupul 's second goal on an empty net sealed the win for the Flyers . The series returned to Pittsburgh for Game 5 , where the Penguins won their eighth consecutive home game by a final score of 6 – 0 , the Prince of Wales Trophy , and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final . 
