Time: 12:30 PM EDT Venue: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219 / PITTSBURGH -- Regardless of mitigating circumstances, games between the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers tend to be hotly contested. On Sunday afternoon, when the Flyers visit PPG Paints Arena, there will be an added plot twist -- the way the outcome will affect the incredibly tight Metropolitan Division standings. Philadelphia (38-25-12) can pull even with Pittsburgh (42-27-6) in points with a regulation win, while the Penguins can gain some separation from the Flyers and keep their hopes alive for a division title. The teams have not played such a meaningful game this late in the season in several years." This time of year, every game is like a playoff game," Flyers center Travis Konecny told his team's website. "You're fighting for points, and obviously it adds a little bit more since it's Pittsburgh. There's definitely going to be that rivalry behind it." The Penguins will go for a sweep of the four-game season series, although Philadelphia did get a point from an overtime loss in the first meeting on Nov. 27. In the two more recent meetings, the Penguins won by a collective 10-3. The only time Pittsburgh has swept its cross-state rival in a season series was 2006-07, when teams played a lot more intradivision games and the Penguins went 8-0 against the Flyers. Things are tighter between the clubs this season." We're playing really well against them," Pittsburgh winger Patric Hornqvist said. "At the same time, we don't focus on those things (such as sweeps). We focus on the game. ... It's going to be a really fun one. They're going to bring their best, and we have to bring our best to beat them." This part of the season, we're all preparing ourselves for putting us in the best spot possible. Philly's in our way. And we're in their way, too. So it's going to be a good game. And it doesn't hurt when we're playing the Flyers. It always brings good memories and good battles." Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have each flirted with, and briefly held, first place in the Metropolitan." We saw what happens when you lose a few -- it can go the other way in a hurry," Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald told flyers.com. "We were battling for the top of the division, and then next thing you know other teams caught up to us. I think we're just focused on each game at hand moving forward and it's going to be the most important thing down the stretch." Pittsburgh is ending a three-game homestand. It is 4-0-1 in its past five home contests, 15-1-1 in its past 17. The Flyers are one of the league's better road clubs (19-12-6) but are 4-4 overall since the teams' most recent game, a 5-2 Penguins win March 7. Each team will have six games remaining in the regular season after Sunday." It's just similar to what it has been here for the last little bit -- just higher intensity, and all those details are magnified in games like this," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "From here on in, every point is important, especially against a team that's been part of a rivalry for a long time."
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