A pair of underdogs supposed to be in the throes of rebuilding surprised everyone and finished second and third in the Metro Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed second place and their first playoff appearance since 2022, while the Philadelphia Flyers surged to third place and their first playoff appearance since 2020. The teams faceoff at PPG Paints Arena in Game 1 of Round One Saturday.
The puck drops well after 8 p.m. (rumored to be 8:25 p.m. because of television).
The oddsmakers have shifted to make the Penguins a favorite Saturday. The FanDuel odds show the Penguins at -142 to win, but in the best bets research, the oddsmakers also like the under 6.5, -128.
The Penguins had a few games to rest and recover from a bruising March in which several of their top players suffered injuries. As a result, the Penguins lost the last three games of the regular season while using a mix-and-match lineup.
But the records Saturday at 0-0 and the teams will battle for four wins in the best of seven-game series.
The season series was uniquely split, with two wins for each team. However, the Penguins convincingly won their two games in regulation (5-1 on Dec. 1 in Philadelphia, 6-3 on Jan. 15 in Pittsburgh), while the Flyers needed overtime and a shootout to beat the Penguins (3-2 OT on Oct. 28 in Philadelphia, 4-3 SO on March 1 in Pittsburgh).
Of course, the Flyers had the fewest regulation wins (27) of any Eastern Conference playoff team, and the third fewest regulation wins in the entire conference, but there are no shootouts or 3v3 overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Penguins coach Dan Muse did not make many tweaks to the lineup in two days of practice leading to Game 1, but he inserted Elmer Soderblom on the third line in place of the struggling Justin Brazeau. Soderblom averaged .5 points per game, scoring five goals with five assists in 20 games. He also became a physical presence on the Penguins’ fourth line during the injury absences of Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte.
Flyers Scouting Report
The Flyers are not the bullies of the past, but they are a scrappy team coached by Rick Tocchet that stole a lot of points by keeping games close and forcing overtime. They had six wins and five extra-time losses when trailing after two periods, which is 17 points. Conversely, the Penguins were a more typical team when trailing, earning three wins and three extra-time losses.
When tied after two periods, they were Flyers are 11-1-4 in regulation, which also shows they know how to finish games.
One of the Flyers’ weaknesses has been special teams. The Flyers had the worst power play in the league at 15.5%. Their penalty kill also ranked in the bottom third, at 77.6%, 22nd.
Somewhat surprisingly, one of their strengths is goaltending. Dan Vladar posted a 2.42 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. The career backup and 1A goalie had his best campaign at 28 years old.
The Flyers also have a less-than-secret new weapon: Porter Martone, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Following his collegiate season, he signed his entry level contract and immediately joined the team.
“Obviously, he’s a really good player. You saw it–he had a really good year prior to joining, and continued to jump right into games,” Muse said. “And it’s not always easy. I feel like at the end of the season to jump into those games and make a big impact–he clearly did, so credit to him.”
Penguins Scouting Report
First, the Sidney Crosby factor. No player has ever been more prolific against the Flyers than Crosby, who has 60 goals and 139 points in 93 games against his hated rivals.
As for the team, after 82 games of Muse’s instruction and implementation, there are two things to watch in any Penguins game to determine their success: breakouts and, especially in this series, greasy play in the low zone.
The Penguins’ breakouts feed their rush game, and they can be lethal. They filled in the net in the final weeks of the season, becoming the third highest scoring team in the NHL this season. It begins with the Penguins’ defensemen slipping the first pass past the opponent’s forecheck or having the ability to skate the puck past the first layer of forecheckers, generating momentum and speed into the offensive zone.
However, when the team is playing winning hockey, they follow it with sustained pressure; cycling and puck pressure below the dots.
Of course, the necessity of puck management and defensive engagement must be noted. The Penguins can lose their bearings in trying for too much and feed the opponent what Muse calls “loud” chances and odd-man rushes.
Protecting their goalie–probably Stuart Skinner–will be the first prime directive.
UPDATE: Muse confirmed Skinner would start Game 1.
Penguins goalies Arturs Silovs and Skinner both finished the season with .888 save percentages, though each endured plenty of absenteeism defense at various points in the season.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA;
Radio: 105.9 The X.
Expected Penguins Lines
Egor Chinakhov-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak-Rickard Rakell-Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Soderblom-Ben Kindel-Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kris Letang
Ryan Shea-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Stuart Skinner, confirmed
Flyers Lines
Tyson Foerster–Trevor Zegras–Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny–Christian Dvorak–Porter Martone
Denver Barkey–Noah Cates–Matvei Michkov
Garnet Hathaway–Sean Couturier–Luke Glendening
Defensemen
Travis Sanheim–Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York–Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler–Emil Andrae
Goalie: Dan Vladar, expected
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins are 3-4 all-time in a postseason series against the Flyers, but the Penguins have advanced to at least the second round of the playoffs eight times in the 16 playoff runs they’ve had with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the lineup. In five of the 16 runs, the Penguins have gone to at least the Conference Final.
The Penguins have four players who will make their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut: Egor Chinakhov, Ben Kindel, Elmer Soderblom, and Ryan Shea.
The Penguins scored seven power-play goals on 18 opportunities (38.9%) during the regular season against the Flyers.
Categorized:2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Penguins Pregame
