Eastern conference final: Penguins ties NHL playoff record.

Game three of the Eastern conference final was presented tonight at the Wachovia center in Philadelphia and the Flyers were in a must-win situation as they were down 0-2 in the series.

But with the injuries to Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, the Philadelphia Flyers' defensive corp could not stave off the Penguins offense.

Very early into the first period, a shot from Ray Whitney was deflected into Martin Biron's net. Then only two minutes later, Marian Hossa has scored his seventh goal of the playoffs on a shot that the Flyers goaltender would like to see again.

R.J. Umberger did reduce the Penguins lead to a single goal before the first period was over but it was the only Flyers goal of the game. Philadelphia's first offensive line was invisible all evening long. Daniel Briere and Vaclav Prospal who are considered to be the top offensive players for the Flyers did not register a shot on net in this one.

During the third period, the Penguins extended their lead with goals from Ryan Malone and the second goal of the night from Marian Hossa.

Final score: Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - Philadelphia Flyers 1 (Pittsburgh leads the series by 3-0)

The Penguins tied a NHL playoff record as they have won the first three games of every series they participated this far. The Penguins have only lost a single game during the second round to the New-York Rangers. Pittsburgh shows an impressive 11-1 playoff record.

Game four of the series will be played thursday.

(Picture: Canadian Press.)