Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

It's finally time. After almost six years without playoff hockey, the Philadelphia Flyers are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the opponent is a familiar one, both from regular season play and postseasons past.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the first in line for a shot at a Stanley Cup. Play opens with Game 1 in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 8 PM.

How to Watch

Time: 8 PM
Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia/ESPN
Radio: 97.3 ESPN and the 97.3 ESPN Free Mobile App
Streaming: ESPN+

Projected Flyers Lines vs. Penguins

Injury & Roster Updates

Lineup Updates: The Flyers are expected to use a similar lineup to Monday's playoff-clinching game for the playoff opener.
Starting Goalie: Dan Vladar gets the start for the Flyers. Vladar finished the regular season with a 29-14-7 with a 2.42 GAA and .906 save percentage in the 2025-26 season.
Injuries
- Nikita Grebenkin: upper-body injury, out since March 26
- Rodrigo Abols: fractured ankle, out at least two months from Jan. 21

Opponent Snapshot: Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Projected Lineup vs. Flyers

59 Egor Chinakhov - 87 Sidney Crosby - 17 Bryan Rust
18 Thomas Novak - 67 Rickard Rakell - 71 Evgeni Malkin
25 Elmer Soderblom - 81 Ben Kindel - 39 Anthony Mantha
19 Connor Dewar - 46 Blake Lizotte - 55 Noel Acciari

28 Parker Wotherspoon - 65 Erik Karlsson
49 Samuel Girard - 58 Kris Letang
5 Ryan Shea - 75 Connor Clifton

74 Stuart Skinner
37 Arturs Silovs

Opponent Record (Regular Season): 41-25-16
Special Teams Ranking (Regular Season)
- Power Play: 24.1% (7th)
- Penalty Kill: 81.4% (6th)
Who’s hot?: Sidney Crosby has 10 points in his last seven games. Evgeni Malkin has six goals and 14 points in his last 10 games. Rickard Rakell has 10 goals and 13 points in his last 11 games. Anthony Mantha has seven goals and 11 points in his last nine games. Erik Karlsson has four goals and 12 points in his last nine games. Egor Chinakhov four goals and 10 points in his last seven games.
Who’s in net?: Stuart Skinner gets the start for the Penguins. Skinner was 23-17-9 in 50 games in the 2025-26 season with a 2.92 GAA and .888 save percentage. After being acquired by the Penguins, Skinner was 12-9-5 in 27 games with a 2.99 GAA and .885 save percentage.
Injuries: Joel Blomqvist and Filip Hallander are out for Game 1 with injury.

Keys to the Game

Start Strong: The Flyers have been in playoff mode for over a month at this point. Now in their first official playoff game, getting off to a strong start can announce their presence in this series.
Stay Out of the Box: Pittsburgh dominated in special teams compared to the Flyers. While the Penguins power play has struggled of late, there’s too much star-power to allow it to have too many opportunities.
Stick to Structure: The Flyers have been able to hang their hat on defensive structure throughout the season, but especially during their post-Olympic run. Maintain that standard in the playoffs, and the Flyers will certainly be competitive.

By the Numbers

The Flyers had a 23-14-4 record on the road this season. The Penguins were 20-13-8 on home ice in the regular season.
Sidney Crosby has 15 goals and 36 points in 23 career games against the Flyers in the playoffs. Evgeni Malkin has 13 goals and 27 points in 22 career games against the Flyers in the playoffs.
Sean Couturier has eight goals and 13 points in 11 career games against the Penguins in the playoffs.

Quotable

"You've got to go through him, you've got to be on top of him, you've got to make it a hard game for him, you've got to get in his way. Because if you're not, you know what he can do. We have a ton of respect for Sid, he's an unbelievable person and player, but we've got to get him in the ditches. We've got to make it hard on him." - Rick Tocchet on facing Sidney Crosby.

X-Factors

Travis Konecny: The last time the Flyers were in the playoffs, Konecny was held without a goal. The forward has been waiting a long time for playoff hockey to return, and should be looking to make a great first impression.
Sidney Crosby: The legendary forward lives for the playoffs and playing against the Flyers. If the Penguins are going to get off to a fast start, Crosby will almost definitely be behind it.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.

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