Spare us the wagers of cheesesteaks vs. Iron City. Any way you mix the two, hockey fans know it's going to come out bitter.

That's how it's always been with the NHL's Pennsylvania rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, who will open a best-of-seven series here Friday night for the Eastern Conference title. For anyone not paying attention (and it's hard to understand how), this is the playoff round before the Stanley Cup finals.

That's Stanley Cup as in championship. That's championship as in the kind the Penguins haven't copped since 1992, when star center Sidney Crosby was still shy of his fifth birthday.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The young Pens have come this far, capturing two rounds of playoffs in the remarkably short span of eight wins and one loss, just by doing that -- taking it one game at a time. They also have counted on every man to find his one shining moment, as newcomer Marian Hossa did in his overtime goal Sunday.

Not that Friday night's face-off will be just another game. The Pens go up against their cross-state nemesis, who beat Pittsburgh in five of their eight meetings this season, including an 8-2 humiliation in December.

Let's hope the Flyers had their fun. This is the series that counts.

These hungry Penguins won't be denied. Go ahead, bring it.