This is what you call a positive spin.

Since nothing else has seemed to work, it was suggested to Penguins forward Max Talbot that perhaps going on the road to try to break out of a slump and doing it against the Philadelphia Flyers, bitter rivals who have steamrollered just about everyone lately, is the answer.

"It definitely can't hurt," Talbot said yesterday after the Penguins practiced at Mellon Arena and before they flew to Philadelphia.

The Penguins' heated relationship with the cross-state Flyers isn't new, having persisted for a couple generations, but tonight's matchup has some unexpected elements.

Consider that the Penguins, coming off a Stanley Cup final run, began the season 11-4-2, while Philadelphia opened 0-3-3 and 4-6-3, including an overtime road loss against the Penguins.

Things have changed, with the teams trading lots since around the time the Flyers took a 6-3 decision against the visiting Penguins Dec. 13.

Philadelphia has shot to the top of the Atlantic Division standings with 55 points, has gone 4-0-2 in its past six games and has won eight in a row at Wachovia Center. They have outscored opponents, 40-20, during their home streak.

The Penguins have lost seven of their past eight to tumble to fourth in the division, 10th and two rungs below the playoff cutoff in the Eastern Conference with 44 points.

Given that backdrop, the Penguins decided that embracing the challenge might be one way to steer their season back on course.

"It could be good for us," said center Sidney Crosby, who routinely gets booed and heckled by Flyers fans.

"It's tough right now for us, and an emotional game like that could be the right thing."

In fact, the Penguins will get two games in as many nights against opponents that can get them riled.

They return home tomorrow to face Washington. Not only is there a race among the Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (65 points) and Crosby (55) and the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (54) for the NHL scoring title, but Ovechkin also has turned what apparently is a personal grudge against Malkin into some fierce physical play.

First, though, are the Flyers, and their powerful special teams.

Going into last night, Philadelphia had the second-best power play, scoring at a 26.9 percent clip, and a best-at-home 37.1 percent. That has been a major factor in not losing a home regulation game since Nov. 8 (12-0-2).

In the Penguins' first trip to Philadelphia, Dec. 13, the Flyers took a 2-0 lead on first-period, power-play goals and finished with four man-advantage scores in the 6-3 win.

"They shot a lot of pucks from anywhere," Penguins forward and penalty-killer Jordan Staal said. "That's tough to defend, but we've got to be more aware of when they're going to shoot it and get on them quicker."

The Penguins, meanwhile, rank near the bottom of the league in power-play efficiency, 79.7 percent, which falls to 77 percent on the road.

Their penalty killing isn't a lot better, 17.2 percent and a dismal 13.6 percent on the road. That could be fatal against Philadelphia, which leads the NHL with 13 short-handed goals, including four each by Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne.

The Penguins made small inroads Saturday when Malkin scored a power-play goal and Staal a short-handed mark in a 5-3 loss at Colorado.

"Obviously, the special teams have been struggling lately," Talbot said. "The power play got started and we have to get the [penalty-killing] going. We see how important it is to win the special teams. That's going to win you games."

Winning games right now is the hardest and most important thing the Penguins can do.

Perhaps it will start with an improbable upset of the Flyers.

"We certainly hope so," coach Michel Therrien said. "It's a tough place to play, but I believe we'll be ready for that challenge.

"We need a big win."

There was one quasi-skeptic of the notion that playing emotional rivals back-to-back is a good way to turn things around.

"Maybe," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "I don't think there needs to be any extra outside influences or motivation, no matter who we're playing, although maybe sometimes, especially on the road in a rink like Philly.

"It can go either way, though. You can be really intimidated, or you can go in there and feed off of it like we did in the playoffs last year. Hopefully, we go in the right direction."