PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers can advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020 when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday.
The Flyers have not won a playoff series since defeating the Montreal Canadiens in six games in the 2020 Eastern Conference First Round. Philadelphia hasn’t swept a best-of-7 series since defeating the New York Rangers in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
“You just got to stay mentally in this game,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. You can’t worry about tomorrow, what ifs, and you can’t play that game. I think we’ve done a pretty good job with that messaging, but like I said, tonight’s a desperate game for us because we know they’re going to be desperate, and that’s the way you’ve got to look at it from game to game.”
The Flyers outscored the Penguins 11-4 in winning the first three games of this series, including a 5-2 victory in Game 3 in Philadelphia on Wednesday. They have a chance to complete the first sweep by either team in the eight playoff series between the Pennsylvania rivals, but they are not thinking about that heading into the game.
“You have to treat it like the series is even,” Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “It’s just another game and we’ve got to be ready to go, we’ve got to be focused. We know that they’re going to play hard and push, we’ve got to be ready for that.”
The Penguins need a win to force Game 5 at Pittsburgh on Monday and avoid being swept for the first time since the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders. Seeking a spark, they will start rookie Arturs Silovs in net after veteran Stuart Skinner played the first three games.
Silovs was 19-12-8 with a 3.07 goals-against average, .888 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 games during the regular season. The 25-year-old has 10 games of NHL playoff experience (5-5, 2.91 GAA, .898 save percentage, one shutout) with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024.
“Both guys have played very well for us all year,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “If you go through the regular season, both guys have won big games. We have a lot of confidence in both guys. This decision isn’t based on Stu’s play. I think Stu’s played really well this series. We lost three games and so decided that we’d make some changes there in the lineup.”
Pittsburgh hopes to become the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series after starting the series at home, following the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who rallied to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final.
“I think it’s just a matter of survival mode, and at the same time, leave it all out there,” Penguins forward Rickard Rakell said. “We have to win. Otherwise, we’re going home.”
