The primary-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers appears to be a gathering of old friends. Well, not exactly.
The NHL’s two Pennsylvania franchises are resuming hostilities after an extended hiatus. These teams have hated one another because the league’s original expansion in 1967-68 they usually have placed on many memorable duels through the years.
Each teams should consider themselves successful only for reaching the playoffs this yr. The Penguins should have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang but that they had didn’t make the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Pittsburg had finished seventh within the Metropolitan Division in 2024-25, and that marked the tip of Mike Sullivan’s tenure with the team. The Penguins hired relative unknown Dan Muse as their recent head coach, and he didn’t seem like the type of coach that would rally the Penguins and fix what had gone fallacious.
Those appearances were completely deceiving. Muse could have looked like a seasoned accountant, but his Penguins picked up their defensive level and gave one hundred pc for 60 minutes nearly every game. The Penguins finished second within the division with a 41-25-16 record and had 98 points for the season.
The Flyers matched that time total, however the Penguins earned the second-place nod because that they had more regulation wins than Philadelphia.
Still, it was an excellent yr for the Flyers as they rallied after a slow begin to play a few of the perfect hockey within the league through the final two months. The Flyers finished the season on a 14-4-1 hot streak as head coach Rick Tocchet was in a position to bring out the perfect in his team when it mattered most.
These two rivals are as close as they may be within the standings, The Penguins have home-ice advantage and that will be the determining consider this series.
Penguins will look to Crosby to achieve the sting
The NHL belongs to Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon in 2025-26. These are the league’s lions and the old guard of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin have given strategy to probably the most explosive players in today’s game.
Crosby could also be ready for one breathtaking last stand. While he doesn’t have the scale and strength of the highest dogs within the league, he has the know-how and skills to tilt the series in Pittsburgh’s favor. Crosby led the Penguins with 29 goals and 45 assists for 74 points, once more scoring more points than the variety of games he has played. He’s a chess player on the ice, all the time not less than two moves ahead of the opposition.
Crosby will not be alone, as defenseman Erik Karlsson had a resurgent season with 15 goals and 51 assists. Malkin has slowed a bit, but he still scored 19 goals and added 42 assists for 61 points in 56 games.
The Penguins were way over their stars this yr. They got big seasons from Anthony Mantha (33 goals), Bryan Rust (29 goals), Rickard Rakell (24 goals) and Ego Chinakhov (18 goals). These supporting players got here through with a relentless attitude and non-stop hustle to get the Penguins back on target.
The Penguins should have the option to push the pace against the Flyers even after they fall behind. Crosby and his supporting solid are hungry to regain the Stanley Cup success they’ve had up to now
Flyers are overjoyed to return to the postseason
Rick Tocchet took over a team this season that had not made the playoff because the Covid yr of 2019-20. The Flyers were coming off three brutal seasons under old-school head coach John Tortorella, but the brand new coach breathed life into the team.
It didn’t occur instantly, but after the Flyers got here back from the Olympic break, they played sensational hockey. They now have a possibility to take it further behind the play of Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov doing many of the heavy lifting.
Konecny led the Flyers with 27 goals and 68 points, while Zegras, an explosive 25-year-old center, contributed 26 goals and 67 points.
Tippett is an aggressive right wing who scored 28 goals through the regular season while Michkov got here through with a powerful finish after a slow start. He scored 20 goals and 51 points.
Flyers have an edge in goal
Dan Vladar had an excellent season in net for the Flyers. Goaltending had been an enormous problem for the Flyers for multiple seasons, but Vladar got here to the rescue this yr. He finished the regular season with a 29-14-7 record together with a 2.42 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. His play was the important thing to Philadelphia’s late-season surge.
Stuart Skinner was adequate in net for the Penguins after he was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers. He was 12-9-5 with a 2.99 GAA together with an .885 save percentage. He was higher for the Penguins than Tristan Jarry had been earlier within the yr, but he doesn’t have the type of shut-down qualities that Vladar has with the Flyers.
Search for Penguins to emerge in seven games
These two teams have met seven times within the postseason previously, and the Flyers have won 4 of those series. The Flyers were resurgent at the tip of the season while the Penguins come into the playoffs having lost their last three games. The Flyers even have a transparent advantage in goal.
Nevertheless, the Penguins play with a relentless and attacking mentality they usually have Crosby. He is prepared to point out the hockey world that he will not be able to slide into retirement. His desire to have yet another glorious spring will allow the Penguins to emerge on this series.
The primary-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers appears to be a gathering of old friends. Well, not exactly. The NHL’s two Pennsylvania franchises are resuming hostilities after an extended hiatus. These teams have hated one another because the league’s original expansion in 1967-68 they usually have placed on many memorable duels through the years.