But Vladar wasn’t as sharp in Game 4, allowing three goals on 21 shots, including two on five high-danger shots. If Silovs can outplay Vladar again, it will improve the Penguins’ chances of extending the series.
“In a situation like we’re in, everybody has got to step up,” said Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain. “And for ‘Arty’ to have the game that he did was huge for us. It’s one, so we’ve got to keep going.”
3. Lineup adjustments
The Penguins made two other changes in Game 4 — Elmer Soderblom replaced Justin Brazeau at forward, and Ilya Solovyov for Kyle Clifton on defense. This time, it looks like the Flyers will shake things up.
They didn’t hold a morning skate, but based off practice on Sunday, it appears Emil Andrae will replace Noah Juulsen on defense, and rookie Alex Bump will replace Matvei Michkov at forward. Andrae hasn’t played since he sustained an upper-body injury in Game 1.
It would be bigger news if Michkov, the No. 7 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is a healthy scratch. The 21-year-old is one of two Flyers forwards without a point in the series, along with Tyson Foerster, and has only four shots on goal.
Bump, a 22-year-old looking to make his NHL playoff debut, had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 17 games with Philadelphia this season.
“He really looked good in practice (Sunday) with his shot and energy.” Tocchet said. “I think we need some. After last game, I think we need some energy.”
The only lineup news Tocchet provided before the game was that Vladar would start in goal. Everything else will be a game-time decision.
Flyers projected lineup
Denver Barkey — Trevor Zegras — Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny — Christian Dvorak — Porter Martone
Tyson Foerster — Noah Cates — Alex Bump
Luke Glendening — Sean Couturier — Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Emil Andrae
Dan Vladar
Samuel Ersson
Scratched: Garrett Wilson, Noah Juulsen, Matvei Michkov, Carl Grundstrom, Oliver Bonk, David Jiricek, Carson Bjarnason, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, Oscar Eklind, Jacob Gaucher
Injured: Rodrigo Abols (lower body), Nikita Grebenkin (upper body)
Penguins projected lineup
Rickard Rakell — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov — Tommy Novak — Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Soderblom — Ben Kindel — Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar — Blake Lizotte — Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson
Samuel Girard — Kris Letang
Ryan Shea — Ilya Solovyov
Arturs Silovs
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Justin Brazeau, Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Jack St. Ivany, Connor Clifton
Injured: Filip Hallander (blood clot)
Status report
Michkov, a forward, could be a healthy scratch after being held without a point in the first four games of the series; Bump, a 22-year-old rookie, would likely replace Michkov in what would be his Stanley Cup Playoff debut. … Andrae might replace Juulsen on the Flyers’ third defense pair. … The Penguins are expected to use the same lineup from a 4-2 win in Game 4 on Saturday.
