Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Game 6 Preview

One week ago, the Philadelphia Flyers took a commanding 3-0 series lead in the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the two games since, the Penguins have proven just how hard it is to get that elusive fourth win and move on.

Back-to-back wins have forced the series back to Philadelphia again on Wednesday night for a crucial Game 6. Game time is at 7:30 PM.

How to Watch

Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia/TNT
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 held an optional morning skate. It appears Emil Andrae and Garnet Hathaway will come out of the lineup. Matvei Michkov and Noah Juulsen will return in their place.
Starting Goalie: Dan Vladar gets the start for the Flyers. Vladar made 18 saves on 21 shots in the Game 5 loss in Pittsburgh. He is 3-2 with a 2.03 GAA and .914 save percentage in the playoffs.
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

67 Rickard Rakell - 87 Sidney Crosby - 17 Bryan Rust
59 Egor Chinakhov - 18 Thomas Novak - 71 Evgeni Malkin
25 Elmer Soderblom - 81 Benjamin 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 - 7 Ilya Solovyov

37 Arturs Silovs
74 Stuart Skinner

Special Teams
- Power Play: 17.6% (7th)
- Penalty Kill: 86.7% (5th)
Who’s hot?: Sidney Crosby has five points in the series to lead the Penguins. Rickard Rakell has four points. Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin each have three points in the series.
Who’s in net?: Arturs Silovs gets the start for the Penguins. Silovs made 18 saves on 20 shots in the win in Game 5. He is 2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .920 save percentage in two starts in the series.
Injuries: Joel Blomqvist and Filip Hallander remain out with injury.

Keys to the Game

Win the First Period: The Flyers have not scored in the first period this series. Not only do they need a goal, they need to come out of the opening period with the lead.
Continue Second Period Success: The Flyers have outscored the Penguins, 9-4, in the second period. Continuing that success and utilizing the long change to their advantage will be beneficial.
Better Fundamentals: A main reason for Pittsburgh’s back-to-back wins to force Game 6 has been in the fundamentals. They have been better. The Flyers’ have been lacking. From failed clears to shots hitting the net to better breakouts with crisp passing, the Flyers need to be better in this area to finish off the season.

By the Numbers

The Flyers are 13-8 in Game 6 when leading 3-2 in the series. Their record in the series when leading 3-2 in a series is 19-2.
With Alex Bump's goal in Game 5, the Flyers added to their lead with 13 different players scoring in the playoffs.
The Flyers have outshot the Penguins, 42-34, in the first period, and 50-40 in the second period. The Penguins have outshot the Flyers, 43-31, in the third period.

Quotable

"I think when you haven't been through it, you've got to build that scar tissue. I always call it that you have another reserve tank. There's more in there for some guys. I just felt the last two games, we were a little bit too comfortable. We weren't finishing checks like we did. We weren't getting open for the guy. The fundamentals have been a little bit iffy, but it's a very hard thing to do, grind every day. We're getting a baptism into it, which is great because we're getting guys the experience early. Saying that, you've got to go into this game knowing it's going to be hard, really hard, and you're going to be uncomfortable in situations, but learn from the last game." - Rick Tocchet on the attempts to win the series.

X-Factors

Owen Tippett: The Flyers need offensive production from their top players to get back to where they were at the start of the series. Tippett has been especially quiet, with just an empty-net goal in Game 3 and an assist in the series. If he can find the net and provide the offense he did in the regular season, it could help the Flyers get the final win they need to finish the series.
Sidney Crosby: If there's going to be one player on the Pittsburgh roster to will his team back even in this series, it's the captain. Crosby leads the way with five points in the series, all in the last three games.

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