Ryan Whitney, third from left, celebrates his first-period goal in Game 3 that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead in Philadelphia. Also celebrating are, from left, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby.

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PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Whitney's wide smile told several stories.

He and the Pittsburgh Penguins are one win away from the Stanley Cup finals, and the path was paved by his goal that was three months in the making. Quick strikes by Whitney and Marian Hossa raised the Penguins to heights not reached since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr donned the black and gold.

Whitney and Hossa scored less than three minutes apart in the first period, and the Penguins held the Philadelphia Flyers to 18 shots Tuesday night in a 4-1 victory that gave them a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

"This might have been our best defensive effort all year," Whitney said.

Another win against their cross-state rivals, and the Penguins will advance to the NHL finals for the first time since Lemieux and Jagr led Pittsburgh to titles in 1991 and '92.

"We're five wins away from our goal, but this next game is so important," said Whitney, who scored for the first time in 30 games. "They're playing for their season."

R.J. Umberger, born in Pittsburgh, answered with a first-period goal for the Flyers, but the Pittsburgh defense then locked them down.

That made things easier for Marc-Andre Fleury, who finished with 17 saves after a pair of 4-2 home victories.

Ryan Malone scored with 10:02 left to make it 3-1, silencing a crowd hoping to see Philadelphia get back in it. Instead, the Flyers can be eliminated as soon as Thursday at home. Hossa added an empty-net goal with 53.7 seconds remaining.

Pittsburgh, which recorded 25 shots, is 11-1 in these playoffs and has led 3-0 in all three series. Detroit holds the same advantage over Dallas in the West finals, and can advance with a win tonight.

"I don't think any of us saw this coming; we're going to be honest," Whitney said. "We thought it would be battles against all three teams, but this series is far from over."

The Penguins, who lost all four regular-season games in Philadelphia, are the first team since the 1983 Edmonton Oilers and the fourth overall to win 11 of their first 12 in the playoffs.

"I don't know if we look at it as an accomplishment," captain Sidney Crosby said. "We're being consistent right now. We have a great attitude, but that's the reward you get for making sure that you take each game seriously."

History is on their side, too.

Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders have erased 3-0 deficits to win a series.

The excitement and enthusiasm from the "Flyer-ed Up," orange-clad fans was dampened by Whitney's power-play goal 5:03 in, then extinguished when Hossa made it 2-0 2:38 later.

The loudest noises that rained down at Wachovia Center came in the form of groans, first when Evgeni Malkin drew a hooking call against Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher with a dive in the offensive zone, then when Whitney cashed in the Penguins' third power-play goal of the series.