The Flyers-Penguins Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series has certainly gone though it's share of storylines, at the center of which has been the super-powered offense that each team has displayed.
But after four games that saw a brand of hockey not normally seen in the playoffs, with the exception perhaps being Game One's overtime thriller, last night's game saw a complete 180 turn in many of those storylines.
Consider some of the facts.
The team that has gone on to score the first goal in the game has lost ALL five games of the series. In the beginning it was the Flyers who were dominated early on. Their slow starts would put them behind and force them to play catch up through the final 40-plus minutes. The Flyers won Games One and Two having caught the Penguins.
In the two most recent games, the Flyers have jumped out to early leads and ended up dropping those contests.
Last night's game also saw something the series hasn't seen yet - A scoreless period.
Throughout the series at least one goal had been put in the net in 15 consecutive periods (counting overtime in Game One). The third period saw a total of 22 shots hit the net, 14 of which came from the Flyers, but none found the back of the net.
"Certainly the last 12 or 10 minutes of that period I thought we were really good. We we're strong in the offensive zone and we were pressing," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. "Last night there were a lot of positives, but positive's don't cut it. We have to find a win."
The game also saw a series low of five total goals scored, and for the first time, a goal was NOT scored in the game's first 10 minutes of play. In fact, in each of the first four games at least TWO goals were scored in the opening 10 minutes of the game.
What Game Five did feature that has been constant throughout the series is the incredible success rate of special teams.
The Flyers recorded both of their goals on the power-play, going 2-for-5 and increasing their playoff total to a staggering 55 percent through five games (11-for-20)… Their 11 goals ties a franchise record for most power-play goals in a playoff series and are more than 10 of the 16 teams in the playoffs total goal output in their respective series.
Whatever the trends may be, the Flyers are focused on just one thing, playing a full 60 minutes. They are confident that, plus the fired up crowd at the Wells Fargo Center for Game Six, will help them close out the series and advance to the Semifinals for the second straight year.
"We get fired up when we [hear] God Bless America, warming up in front of our fans [and] the sea of orange. Just everything about playing at home gives you an extra boost," said Scott Hartnell. "We're definitely going to need the fans to be a hundred percent in our corner, and no matter what happens to cheer for us right until the end and you believe that we're gonna win."