It's one thing for a hockey series to wind up soaked in bad blood. It has happened, yes, from time to time.

Rare, though, has one been as scheduled, warned and anticipated as the Flyers-Penguins series that Sunday yielded 148 penalty minutes and multiple fights ... including one between two of the best players in the sport, Claude Giroux and Sidney Crosby.

 "I didn't expect it," Max Talbot would say afterward.

Didn't expect it?

Did he not see Peter Laviolette nearly climb into the Pittsburgh bench three weekends ago, ready to rumble? Did he not hear all the threats the weekend after, when the Flyers ended their season in Pittsburgh?

Sometimes, it seems like hockey ill-will is manufactured, not that the fans don't appreciate the entertainment. This time? It's real.

Check out my column in the Daily Times and on delcotimes.com Monday, along with a feature article on Giroux's brilliance in the series.