Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

It was a good first impression for the Philadelphia Flyers, with the few veterans they have showing the way and newcomers coming through in key moments. Their defensive play was strong to take the series opener and have the early advantage in the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Now, the teams get back on the ice in Pittsburgh for Game 2 on Monday night, with the Flyers looking to really establish control in the series. Game time is at 7 PM.

How to Watch

Time: 7 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: No changes are expected to the Flyers' lineup from Game 1.
Starting Goalie: Dan Vladar gets the start for the Flyers. Vladar made 15 saves on 17 shots in the Game 1 win on Saturday.
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

Special Teams
- Power Play: 0.0% (7th)
- Penalty Kill: 100.0% (6th)
Who’s hot?: Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust each scored in Game 1. Malkin also had an assist for a two-point game.
Who’s in net?: Stuart Skinner gets the start for the Penguins. Skinner made 17 saves on 20 shots in the loss in Game 1 on Saturday.
Injuries: Joel Blomqvist and Filip Hallander remain out with injury.

Keys to the Game

Keep It Outside: The Flyers limited the Penguins to 17 shots in Game 1 and many of them were from the perimeter. Doing that again .
Rush Chances: The Flyers generated several scoring chances off the rush in the series opener, but were not able to cash in. With a playoff game under their belts, taking advantage of those chances will be important.
The Pressure Is On: After claiming Game 1, the Flyers are guaranteed to return home with at least a split in the first two games, but could they apply more pressure to Pittsburgh. The veteran team in this series is certainly not going to want to fall behind 2-0 in the series, and could start feeling the heat if the Flyers were to establish their game early.

By the Numbers

Rasmus Ristolainen had two assists and played a team-high 25 minutes in Game 1.
Elmer Soderblom made the most of his 10:25 of ice time in Game 1, taking three of Pittsburgh's 17 shots on goal.
Porter Martone became the fifth-youngest player in NHL history to score in his postseason debut. He was also the fifth teenager in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in his playoff debut.

Quotable

""We're all buying into what we're trying to do. That's what you get when you get 23 guys on the same page." - Trevor Zegras on the Flyers buying in.

X-Factors

Travis Sanheim: Sanheim was the best Flyer on the ice in Game 1, steady defensively and coming through with the go-ahead goal at the mid-point of the third period. Sanheim's ability to play big minutes and handle top offensive opponents is going to be especially valuable as the series progresses.
Evgeni Malkin: In the playoffs, you need your top players to be at their best. Malkin was that for the Penguins in Game 1. Despite limited chances, Malkin made his mark with a multi-point game and could just be scratching the surface on what he can do in this series.

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

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