Penguins move within one win of finals

Ryan Whitney’s wide smile told several stories.

He and the Pittsburgh Penguins are one win away from the Stanley Cup finals, and the path was paved by his goal that was three months in the making. Quick strikes by Whitney and Marian Hossa raised the Penguins to heights not reached since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr donned the black and gold.

Whitney and Hossa scored less than 3 minutes apart in the first period, and the Penguins held the Philadelphia Flyers to 18 shots Tuesday night in a 4-1 victory at Philadelphia that gave Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

“This might have been our best defensive effort all year,” Whitney said.

Another win against their cross-state rivals and the Penguins will advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since Lemieux and Jagr led Pittsburgh to titles in 1991 and 92.

“We’re five wins away from our goal, but this next game is so important,” said Whitney, who scored for the first time in 30 games. “They’re playing for their season.”

R.J. Umberger, born in Pittsburgh, answered with a first-period goal for the Flyers, but the Pittsburgh defense then locked them down. That made things easier for Marc-Andre Fleury, who finished with 17 saves after a pair of 4-2 home victories.

Ryan Malone scored with 10:02 left to make it 3-1 and silenced a crowd hoping to see Philadelphia get back in it. Instead, the Flyers can be eliminated as soon as Thursday. Hossa added an empty-net goal with 53.7 seconds remaining.

Pittsburgh, which recorded 25 shots, is 11-1 in these playoffs and has led 3-0 in all three series. Detroit holds the same advantage over Dallas in the West finals, and can advance with a win today.

“I don’t think any of us saw this coming, we’re going to be honest,” Whitney said. “We thought it would be battles against all three teams, but this series is far from over.”

Bruins sign Kobasew

The Boston Bruins signed forward Chuck Kobasew to a multiyear contract extension after his highest scoring season in five years in the NHL.

The team did not disclose contract details.

Kobasew had career highs of 22 goals, 17 assists and 39 points in 73 games this past season. He finished second on the team in goals to Marco Sturm, who had 27.