Through all the insanity on Friday night in Pittsburgh, Jaromir Jagr did not flinch. His eyes did not widen. Having skated in more Stanley Cup playoff games (171) than teammates Matt Read and Sean Couturier have regular-season games combined (156), there isn't much that fazes him.
It comes as no surprise, then, that Jagr has been in this situation before. In fact, it was with the Penguins in 2000. They stunned the Flyers to win both games of their epic first-round series in Philadelphia-before proceeding to lose four straight.
That tale is one of a handful of personal experiences Jagr can point to as a deterrent for the Flyers' taking their skates off the Penguins' throats during Game 3 on Sunday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.
"We thought it was over," Jagr recalled. "We could never win in Philly. All of the sudden, we won two straight in the playoffs. We had a pretty good record at home against them, a bad record in Philly, and we still took two."
Then, Andy Delmore happened. The rookie defenseman scored twice in Game 3 in Pittsburgh, including the overtime winner. Keith Primeau's iconic overtime blast in the longest modern NHL game ever played evened the series in the Igloo on May 4, 2000, at 2:35 a.m. No Penguin played more in that five-OT thriller than Jagr, who skated 59:08.
Delmore's name was shaken from the echoes on Friday night when Couturier became the first Flyers rookie to score a hat trick in a playoff game since Delmore did it in Game 5 of that series.
Delmore, now 35, played in Italy this season. He skated in just two more NHL playoff games after that season. Jagr, 40, became the Flyers' oldest player to score a playoff goal on Friday.
"I don't even remember that defenseman's name," Jagr said Saturday.
But he never forgot that feeling.
"It won't be over until it's over," Jagr said. "You don't look forward, not against a team like that. We have a lot of respect for that team. We've got to fight until the last second."
Jagr said the seven Flyers left from the 2010 team remember their ridiculous rallies against Boston, recovering from down three games to none in the series and 3-0 in Game 7.
The Penguins lost the first two games of a series, albeit on the road, twice on the way to their 2009 Stanley Cup title - including the Finals against Detroit.
"I think you always try to use those experiences to understand what you need to do," Sidney Crosby said Saturday. "I think that's something that will help. But at the end of the day, we need to be our best in the next game."
Yes, the Flyers are 17-0 when leading a best-of-seven series two games to none. But they know a loss on Sunday would make for an awful interesting Game 4 against the odds-on favorite to win the Cup.
"We're halfway done," Jagr said. "Nobody is overconfident. We have no reason to be. We haven't even played our best game yet."
JVR back
As expected, forward James van Riemsdyk returned to practice with the Flyers during an optional skate Saturday in Voorhees. It was his first team skate since undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot March 1.
Van Riemsdyk, 22, wore a protective plastic shield over his left skate. He led the Flyers with seven goals in 11 playoff games last spring, but has missed 21 consecutive games and 41 overall this season.
"It's the time of the year where you want to do everything you can to get out there on the ice and I'm excited to be a little closer," van Riemsdyk said. "It's a good step in the right direction to be out on the ice with the guys."
Slapshots
The Flyers have been up three games to none in a best-of-seven series just 10 times in the team's 94-round history. ... Defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon (upper body) said he would find out more about his injury later on Saturday. Bourdon appears to be a possibility for Game 3, but if he cannot play, Pavel Kubina will remain in the lineup. ... The Flyers were 5-9-3 in games that started prior to 5 p.m. this season. ... Pittsburgh has given up just 35 power-play goals this season, eight of them have been to the Flyers.
Contact Frank Seravalli at seravaf@phillynews.com or @DNFlyers on Twitter.
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