Tim Benz: Forget ‘Flip the Script.’ After Game 1 loss, the Penguins need a playoff rewrite
The Penguins “Flip the Script” rallying cry for the playoffs is quickly taking on a different tone.
Because after the team’s 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the postseason opener Saturday night, that script is going to need a total rewrite.
“We were just off in a lot of aspects,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “We wanted things to happen when there wasn’t anything there instead of waiting for it to come to us.”
The Penguins were sloppy, undisciplined and anemic offensively. The team only managed 17 shots — just 12 by the time Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim scored the go-ahead goal at the 50-minute mark. That was despite gaining possession a lot on faceoffs. The Pens won 59% of the draws. Sidney Crosby claimed 10 of his 15 chances.
The blue line could certainly contribute to the offense better. Only three of those shots in the game came from defensemen. Two came from Karlsson, and one from Kris Letang.
“Our forwards do a good job of boxing out. When our forwards are there, we’ve got to get it down,” defenseman Ryan Shea said. “It doesn’t have to be on net. Our forwards, if they get position in front of the net, even if (the shot) misses, they are going to be the guys on it anyway. Too many blocked shots (14). A little extra in the high ice, we fix that and we’ll be able to work them down low.”
The power play didn’t help either. Both opportunities it had ended up failing. The second look was particularly maddening. It had no shots on goal and three offside violations.
“We got discombobulated on some of the break-ins, which caused offsides or unsuccessful plays,” winger Bryan Rust said. “We just need to take a deep breath, an extra second or two and get everybody back on the same page.”
Had it not been for goaltender Stuart Skinner, the game could’ve been out of hand much earlier for Philly. Over the last two periods, the Flyers had at least four odd-man or breakaway chances that Skinner turned aside.
“I think he had a really good game,” coach Dan Muse said. “Some of the chances that were given up, shouldn’t be. He made some saves on those odd-man and rush chances. We’ve got to be better continuing to work in front of him. I thought he made some big saves.”
The Penguins also need to manage their emotions and the physicality of the game better. They took five penalties — two by Crosby, two by Anthony Mantha and another by Letang.
Travis Sanheim and Sidney Crosby both head to the penalty box late in the third period pic.twitter.com/fRuIMa6HDh
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 19, 2026
“The will inside of us was too strong (Saturday). We played with our emotions instead of our head,” Karlsson said.
Pittsburgh’s lack of ability to generate much offense was particularly noticeable after Sanheim made the game 2-1 with 10 minutes left. Despite pressing to tie the game, the Pens could only manage five shots over the final 10 minutes. One of those shots resulted in a goal by Rust, but it came with just 61 seconds left to play.
“I’m not sure,” Rust said when asked to evaluate the late comeback effort. “I don’t think we did a good enough job of sustaining offensive zone time. Give them credit. They played well. But I don’t think we did nearly a good enough job.”
Defensively, despite allowing only 20 shots, the Penguins were far from perfect as well. Some of those breakaway chances were the result of poor puck management, bad decisions and ill-advised passes.
However, the last two Philadelphia goals were the result of the Flyers exploiting some open ice up high in the zone that resulted in slick individual efforts by Sanheim and Porter Martone.
TRAVIS SANHEIM GIVES THE FLYERS THE LATE LEAD ????
Watch Game 1 of Flyers-Penguins on ESPN and the ESPN App now! ???? pic.twitter.com/As5B4CJRyu
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 19, 2026
WHAT A SHOT ????
PORTER MARTONE RIPS ONE HOME IN HIS FIRST EVER GAME IN THE #STANLEYCUP PLAYOFFS!
????????: @espn
????????: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/OyGrs7AgrV
— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2026
“One was a breakdown. Guys were in areas. They made a nice play at the point coming down in the slot,” Muse said of Sanheim’s goal. “The other one, guys are back. It’s just closing a little bit quicker.”
The Penguins’ social media department was right. The team’s 2025-26 season was a really good storyline.
But this script for the playoff sequel is starting a little slow. Time to cut to the chase in Game 2, or it might get tossed in the shredder in Philadelphia next week.
