Flyers vs. Penguins: Preview of the First Round

The Philadelphia Flyers are set to begin their first playoff series in six years, taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

There are many areas to break down and look at when dissecting this series. In this overall preview of the series, you can find more details about the Flyers’ strengths and weakness in a matchup against the Penguins and a full breakdown of each position.

Flyers vs. Penguins: Forwards

Two weeks ago, you may have looked at both rosters and picked the Penguins in this category in a landslide. But now, as the playoffs begin, it’s a lot closer.

The Flyers bringing in Porter Martone and getting Tyson Foerster back have helped add more depth to the forward group. They have a nice rotation of players that have been in and out of the lineup, with Alex Bump, Denver Barkey, and Carl Grundstrom all getting time along with the most consistent version of the fourth line recently: Luke Glendening, Sean Couturier, and Garnet Hathaway. And with more success building for players like Matvei Michkov and Noah Cates, while the likes of Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny, and Trevor Zegras all completed solid seasons, there are plenty of forwards to watch for on the Flyers' roster.

The Penguins have 11 players with double-digit goals this season, a testament to their depth. The Flyers have eight forwards who topped 10 goals, but add in Bump’s five in 17 games, Martone’s four in nine games, and Barkey’s five in 43 games, and the number could have easily been higher over a full-season pace.

Pittsburgh gets the edge among forwards for the legendary status that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin possess. They are known game-changers, future Hall-of-Famers, and have proven that age is only a number this season.

Add in that the Penguins have unlocked more offense this season from 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel, a career year for Anthony Mantha, and a complete turnaround after acquiring Egor Chinakhov, and the Penguins provide plenty of offense.

Flyers vs. Penguins: Defensemen

Let’s start here. The top defenseman in the series is on Pittsburgh’s roster. The way Erik Karlsson was able to revitalize his career has been impressive, and he’s had an outstanding season, certainly one that offensively no Flyer can match.

But beyond Karlsson and another future Hall-of-Famer in Kris Letang, the names don’t jump off the page among Pittsburgh’s defensive core. This is where the Flyers may have an edge, that the likes of Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Nick Seeler, and Emil Andrae could be a better overall package than what Pittsburgh has on their blue line.

The Flyers have been a defensive-minded team first and foremost, and that will especially be needed in this series.

Flyers vs. Penguins: Goaltending

The Penguins have stabilized their goaltending following the acquisition of Stuart Skinner. Skinner made 27 starts for the Penguins with a 12-9-5 record, a 2.99 GAA and a .885 save percentage. Arturs Silovs made 38 starts for Pittsburgh with a 19-12-8 record, a 3.07 GAA, and an .888 save percentage.

This is probably going to be Skinner’s net, considering he’s appeared in two straight Stanley Cup Finals.

But for a change, the Flyers have the goaltending advantage. Dan Vladar has been excellent all season, making a career-high 51 starts while posting a 29-14-7 record, a 2.42 GAA, and a .906 save percentage. Vladar will be the Flyers’ top netminder this postseason.

Flyers vs. Penguins: Special Teams

The advantage clearly goes to the Penguins in this category. Their power play ranked seventh in the NHL with a 24.1 percent success rate. The penalty kill was ranked sixth in the NHL with an 81.4 percent success rate.

The Flyers’ power play once again finished last in the league with a 15.7 percent success rate. The penalty kill was easily the better of the two units, ranking 22nd with a 77.6 percent success rate.

Headliners

Travis Konecny: It’s been a long five seasons for Travis Konecny once April arrives. The Flyers’ forward wasn’t shy a few short months ago when it felt like the Flyers were on the way to a sixth straight season missing the playoffs. Now, Konecny gets a chance at redemption. Konecny has just one goal and seven assists in 22 career playoff games. In 16 games in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Konecny was held without a goal and picked up seven assists.
Sidney Crosby: When you think of playoff success, you think of Sidney Crosby. The three-time Stanley Cup champion is back again in a season that started with a huge amount of doubt. There was tons of speculation that a poor season from the Penguins could lead to Crosby being moved at the trade deadline. Instead, the Penguins navigated through 14 games without Crosby in the lineup on the way to the playoffs. And when Crosby was in the lineup, he was his usual self with 29 goals and 74 points.

X-Factors

Porter Martone: You can’t look at where the Flyers are today and wonder what might have been if Porter Martone and Michigan State didn’t lose on March 28. A Frozen Four appearance would have delayed Martone’s NHL debut by another two weeks, and the playoffs may not be in the cards for the Flyers without him. The 19-year-old has started his NHL career with four goals and 10 points in nine games.
Anthony Mantha: Mantha has always been consistently reliable for 20 goals or so every season. But the first-year member of the Penguins took things to another level in a breakout season at age 31. Mantha scored 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games, both career highs. His previous career marks were 25 goals and 48 points, so a huge boost in both categories.

By the Numbers

During the regular season, the Penguins were third in the NHL with 3.54 goals for per game. The Flyers were 21st with 2.93 goals for per game. However, the Penguins led the NHL with 4.07 goals for per game in their final 15 games, while the Flyers ranked sixth in the NHL in their final 16 games with 3.56 goals for per game.
The Flyers ranked ninth in the NHL with 2.91 goals against per game. The Penguins were 24th with 3.15 goals against per game. In the Flyers’ final 16 games, they allowed 2.38 goals against per game, fourth in the NHL. The Penguins allowed 4.27 goals against per game in their final 15 games, ranking 30th in the league.
The Flyers were 28th in the NHL with 25.5 shots for per game. The Penguins ranked 10th with 28.6 shots for per game.
The Flyers ranked fourth in the NHL with 25.5 shots against per game. The Penguins were 13th with 27.4 shots against per game.