The Philadelphia Flyers lead their first round series against the hated Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 because of a significant 3-2 win in Game 1. It was just about all you could hope for but the prize of it all — the reason that we can sit back and think about how the Flyers have won the opening game of this series is because of a team-wide commitment to squeezing the life out of everyone wearing black and gold.
Coming into this series, this was one of the key advantages that the Flyers had ove...
Playoff hockey is back in Philadelphia, and the Flyers kicked off the new era with a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh. They now have home-ice advantage for the remainder of the series, and will go back to Philadelphia with the series at least tied 1-1 before Game 3.
The basics
First period: No scoring
Second period: 9:19 – Jamie Drysdale (Trevor Zegras, Denver Barkey), 15:51 – Evgeni Malkin (Tommy Novak, Rickard Rakell)
Third period: 10:00 – Travis Sanheim (Rasmus Ristolai...
Pregame The Penguins get both Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte back from injury, forcing Justin Brazeau out of the lineup. Stuart Skinner gets the call to get the first start. First period The Flyers make the first mistake when Rasmus Ristolainen hits Elmer Soderblom way after a whistle stops play. Philadelphia to the penalty box […]
Talk about the game with Pens fans here!
The day has finally arrived! After three long days off, the Flyers are back in action and set to kick off their first bit of playoff action in six years tonight in Pittsburgh. It’s the next installment of this series between bitter rivals, and a big test for this young Flyers team. The trial by fire is before them, and we’ll see how they fare in it.
Puck drop: 8:00 p.m. How to watch/listen: 📺: NBCSP/ESPN+ 📻: 97.5 The Fanatic
Pregame reading
As they get into this matchup, the...
As has been well established, the Flyers have drastically less playoff experience collectively than their state rivals in the Penguins. However, Philadelphia have younger players, ideally with much more gas in the tank as each game progresses than the likes of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin. On the other hand, Philadelphia head coach Rick Tocchet said that youngsters like Porter Martone, Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, and Denver Barkey have to realize the playoffs are a slightly...
As we await the Battle of Pennsylvania this weekend, it’s time for another preview of the series with a look at the teams’ defensive cores, and see who has the edge on the defensive side of the ice.
The Top Guys: Erik Karlsson vs. Travis Sanheim
After the 2024-25 season in which everyone kinda thought he was cooked, it turns out Erik Karlsson still has something left in the tank. Karlsson had a massive return to form this season, which was downright shocking for the 35-ye...
The upcoming playoff series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins might not be the most beautiful set of hockey games in the world. There will be moments of pure hockey skill on display and some high-pace play, but it could be an absolute collision between two forces and one side (the good guys) want to shut down offense as much as possible to grind out a win.
But, that doesn’t mean it won’t be an entertaining series.
We know that the NHL truly needs to have the...
Breaking down the Flyers' regular season series with the Penguins, digging into some key stats and takeaways.
The Florida Panthers are still the defending Stanley Cup champions, but not for long as this year’s NHL postseason kicks off with a trio of exciting games today.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators will meet for the first time ever in the playoffs this afternoon. The Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild will faceoff for the third time in the postseason this evening. And prime time sees intrastate rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers do battle in the playoffs for the f...
Who: Philadelphia Flyers (43-27-12, 98 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-16, 98 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division) When: 8:00 p.m. ET How to Watch: Local on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and TVAS, national on ESPN, streaming on ESPN+ Pens’ Path Ahead: The series continues Monday with Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena on Monday night. Then the […]
The Philadelphia Flyers face the host Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night in prime time for Game 1, before a national television audience. Nobody knows the outcome. Will the Penguins overpower and steamroll the Flyers in the opening 10 minutes? Or will Philadelphia’s youthful forwards surgically pick apart the Penguins in the neutral zone and make their lives a lot harder than they (most experts) anticipate?
It’s not the first time a younger group of Flyers faced an experienced Penguins cl...
While some people believe watching paint dry might be a better option than watching the Flyers battle the Penguins in round one, the majority of hockey fans are excited to see the old Pittsburgh guard go up against the up-and-coming team from Philadelphia. Many are expecting it to go to a lot more than four games, with some feeling it’s closer to a coin toss than it is a decided advantage for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and crew.
So, in no particular order, here are what some of the prog...
After two years of non-stop trade rumors and stagnant development, the Anaheim Ducks finally made the decision to trade forward Trevor Zegras this past offseason. In exchange for sending Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Ducks received second-and fourth-round picks as well as veteran forward (and former Pittsburgh Penguins forward) Ryan Poehling. At the time, […]
It’s another playoff series involving the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. We’re still not sure when it will start. What’s clear is the old boring narrative about the Flyers having goaltending issues when it counts should at least be put on the back burner to start. When “The Great One” mentions Flyers starter Dan Vladar as a possible nominee for the Hart Trophy, you know it’s been a good year for Philadelphia goaltending.
A lot can happen in a seven-game series, leading s...
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Anthony Mantha had a career year this campaign, as he set new career highs with 33 goals, 31 assists, and 64 points in 81 games. With numbers like these, the Penguins should be working hard to keep him around. Yet, it would also be understandable if the 31-year-old winger decided to test the free-agent market while his value is at its highest. Due to this, let's look at three teams that could sign Mantha in free agency this summer if he does not sign an extension wi...
The full schedule has been announced for the upcoming playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. It had previously been announced that Game 1 of the series will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. in Pittsburgh and we now know when the rest of the games will be played. Game 1 and Game […]
The National Hockey League early Friday morning released the complete schedule for the first round Eastern Conference series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The series gets underway on Saturday evening at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and will conclude on May 2 if it goes to a seventh and deciding game.
If there’s any advantage for the far younger Flyers, it’s that the first three games will be played every other night. Following...
Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning… In an alternate universe, Egor Chinakhov might be wearing blue and white and playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs reportedly tried to trade for Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets, including discussions around a swap involving Nick Robertson. They couldn’t finalize a deal before […]
The Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager Kyle Dubas have decided to part ways with 700-game NHL veteran Matt Dumba . Dumba was acquired in trade with a 2028 2nd-round pick for Vladislav Kolyachonok . The veteran defenseman played 11-games with the Penguins, and spent the majority of his time in the AHL with the WBS Penguins, skating 27 games, and scoring 20 points (6-14). Before he arrived in Penguins, he had become a bit of a journeyman in the NHL, playing for the Dallas Stars...
The full schedule for the Penguins’ return to the postseason has yet to be released, but we do know when their series against the Philadelphia Flyers will get underway. The 2026 version of the Battle of Pennsylvania will commence on Saturday night with an 8 pm puck drop at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins will […]
These Philadelphia Flyers were not guaranteed to make the playoffs, and most would have expected them to miss by a fairly wide margin before this season began. But here they are, just days away from playing Game 1 against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in what should be a highly entertaining series. But there are still some big questions prior to that all-important first playoff game for this iteration of the Flyers.
Because, like we mentioned, they weren’t necessarily supposed to be here....
For the first time in six years, the Philadelphia Flyers are back in the Stanley Cup playoffs and naturally, the hockey Gods have tasked them with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a first round matchup. With both teams entering the season as relative longshots to qualify for the postseason at all, their matchup represents a golden opportunity for either club to get one over on their Keystone State Rival.
At face value, this is a battle of underdogs. The Penguins assembled an island of misfit to...
After a horrible 2025-26 season, the Vancouver Canucks should continue to make changes to their roster during the summer. Nils Hoglander could be a trade candidate to watch from the Canucks, as he has come up in the rumor mill before and could use a change of scenery. Because of this, let's look at three teams that could target Hoglander during the offseason. Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins have made it clear that they are not afraid to take chances on young players who need fresh start...
Every year here at PensBurgh we set some over/under predictions for individual Pittsburgh Penguins players, and at the end of every regular season we like to revisit those predictions and see how everybody did. It is time to revisit those predictions. Let’s go back to the start of the 2025-26 NHL season and see what […]