PITTSBURGH — Lost amid Sidney Crosby’s latest attempt to win the NHL batting title and Evgeni Malkin’s one-on-three brilliance during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ clinical dismantling of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 is this: The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions played pretty well in their own end, too.

That may be the most frightening aspect going forward for the Flyers and the other 14 teams hoping to end Pittsburgh’s run at history.

While it’s easy to point to Matt Murray’s 24 saves — including a fabulous diving stop on Philadelphia’s Scott Lauton in the first period that preserved a one-goal lead and set the stage for the blowout to come — it’s the little things the Penguins did that caught the attention of head coach Mike Sullivan.

Pittsburgh blocked 24 shots before the puck even got to the net. The defensemen in front of Murray turned Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds into a bystander. Philadelphia went on the power play four times and failed to produce a single scoring chance.

Yikes.

“It was just a commitment to defend and play the right way,” Sullivan said.

One the Penguins understand they’ll need to repeat in Game 2 on Friday night. For all of their dominance on Wednesday night, it still only counts as one. Last spring they drilled Ottawa 7-0 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to go up 3-2 in the series only to lose Game 6 two days later.

“We know we’re going to see their best,” said Crosby, whose third career playoff hat trick in Game 1 started with a backhanded swat out of the air from in front that knuckled past Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott and into the net to put the Penguins up five.

It’s unlikely the Flyers could play much worse. Coach Dave Hakstol publicly endorsed sending Elliott back out for Game 2.