Marc-Andre Fleury turned in 26 saves in the Penguins' 4-2 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against Philadelphia Friday night.

That total doesn't include one he tried to make, and it wouldn't have, even if he'd gotten a glove on the shot. It might have earned him some support in the Gold Glove voting, though.

With the Penguins ahead, 1-0, at the middle of the first period, Fleury leaped and extended his catching arm in an effort to corral a shot that was sailing well over his net.

"I shouldn't be doing that," Fleury said yesterday. "I thought that if I could catch it, I could stop the play."

Trouble is, he didn't get high enough to snare it and, a few seconds later, Philadelphia center Mike Richards' wraparound attempt from the right post struck Fleury while he was down in the crease and the puck slid over the goal line to tie the game.

Fleury's failed Ozzie Smith impersonation can't be blamed on his baseball roots -- "I was a catcher," he said -- but, whatever the reason, his teammates aren't likely to begrudge him that lapse in judgment. After all, their goals-against average of 1.88 is the lowest in the NHL this spring, and Fleury's consistently strong play has had a major role in that.

"Marc-Andre gives us a chance to win every game," coach Michel Therrien said. "Right now, he's playing his best hockey in the NHL that he's played so far."

Baby Penguins on roll, too

The Penguins have a bounty of skilled offensive players. And while that isn't true of their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, it hasn't prevented the Baby Penguins from earning a spot in the Eastern Conference final against Portland.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton locked up its berth opposite the Pirates with a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' top minor-league team, Friday night.

Baby Penguins center Tim Brent leads the Calder Cup scoring race with nine goals and eight assists, while defenseman Alex Goligoski stands second with three goals and 11 assists.

"Tim Brent's been our best player all playoffs," said assistant general manager Chuck Fletcher, the general manager of the Baby Penguins. "He's been outstanding. He's been good at both ends of the rink and has really taken charge."

Brent has teamed with Chris Minard (eight goals, four assists) and Kurtis McLean (one goal, 11 assists) on what Fletcher called "our most dangerous line, offensively."

Fletcher also praised the play of rookie goalie John Curry and said two prospects on tryout contracts, Dustin Jeffrey and Luca Caputi, "got a lot better as the [Phantoms] series went along."

Although the Baby Penguins struggled to generate goals in the regular season, they are averaging a league-best 4.3 goals per game in the playoffs.

Good defense pays off

The Flyers were charged with 10 giveaways in Game 1, and several of their turnovers were followed in short order by Penguins goals. Limiting the number of such mistakes obviously will be a priority for Philadelphia, although center Sidney Crosby pointed out that the Penguins played a part in some of the Flyers' puckhandling gaffes that showed up on the scoreboard.

"We did the right thing on those plays and created the turnover," he said. "If we're not there, who knows what happens? But, as long as we're going to the right places and we have the right frame of mind and the right attitude of pressuring the puck, you're going to get your chances eventually.

"Maybe not as many, but you're going to get your chances. So, whether that was them or us, I'm not sure. But I know that we were in the right spots."

Slap shots

Evgeni Malkin walked out of the locker room after practice wearing a Sergei Gonchar baseball cap. ... The Penguins' team defense was lackluster in the opening period of Game 1, but improved significantly over the balance of the evening. "We didn't give up a lot of scoring chances against [in the final 40 minutes], and a lot of credit [belongs] to the players," Therrien said. "When we took that two-goal lead, we were tough to play against."