The Philadelphia Flyers have made the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. They’ll take on cross-state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Round One. Game one is set for Saturday night.
There are so many players on this Flyers roster who will get to experience playoff hockey for the very first time. We can only hope that they make the best of it and find a way to win the series. If the game against the Carolina Hurricanes, in which the Flyers clinched their spot, is any indication of how loud the crowd will be and how packed the arena will be, oh boy, will we be in for a treat.
There are a few ways the Flyers can beat the Penguins and move on to the next round. In this piece, I’ll be diving into those ways and helping set the way for what, hopefully, should be a great series. Let’s get right into it, shall we?
Stay out of the box
The first way the Flyers can beat out the Penguins is by staying out of the box. The Flyers have definitely taken their fair share of penalties this season and simply can’t afford to do so against this Penguins team.
In the regular season series, the two teams split two-two. Within these four games, the Flyers would get penalized 18 times and allow seven goals. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the units, you simply have to stay disciplined.
Special teams is going to play a huge role in this series. The Flyers power play has been a disaster all season, but should they get a man advantage, they have to capitalize. They started to cash in more towards the end of the season, but you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get.
Better Goaltending
This is an aspect of the game where I think the Flyers have the advantage. I, personally, think a tandem of Dan Vladar and Sam Ersson is better than the Penguins tandem of Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs. I hope I don’t eat my words here, but simply looking at the second half numbers for all of these goaltenders, the orange and black have the better numbers.
The addition of Vladar in the offseason has to be one of general manager Daniel Briere’s best moves. They brought Vladar in on a two-year, $6.7M contract on July 1, 2025. He is one, if not the biggest, reason why the Flyers have made the playoffs in the first place.
Vladar has been a solid rock for the Flyers all season long. Through 52 games played (51 started), he recorded a 29-14-7 record, a 2.42 goals-against average (GAA), and a .906 save percentag
The Flyers announced their team awards back on the 14th, and Vladar would walk away with the Bobby Clarke Trophy (Most Valuable Player) and the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award (most illustrates respect, dignity, and character on and off ice). This goes to show how big of a pick-up this was for the Flyers.
Ersson had himself a solid second half of the year after struggling heavily in the first. On the season, he recorded a 14-11-5 record, a 3.12 goals-against average, and a .870 save percentage. Post Olympic break, Ersson went 5-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
Both Skinner and Silovs struggled a bit after the Olympic break. Skinner went 4-5-4 with a 3.24 GAA and .884 save percentage. Silovs went 8-5-0 with a 3.37 GAA and .871 save percentage.
If the Flyers get the better goaltending performances, they have a chance to move on to the next round.
Momentum
This may not be a big deal to some, but momentum can carry you throughout a series. Both of these clubs went in opposite directions to end the regular season.
The Flyers ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak. They’d take down tough opponents such as the Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes, and Montreal Canadiens. They rested a good chunk of the regulars in the last one, and the youth pulled through. Ersson had himself a game to end the season as well.
The Penguins, on the other hand, ended the regular season losing three straight games, with two being against the Washington Capitals. They might have rested a lot of their starters as well, but going into the playoffs losing three straight probably isn’t ideal.
All in all, the Flyers should be going into the postseason feeling rested and ready to go. Will momentum play a role? We’ll find out soon enough.
Your Thoughts
What do you think will play the biggest role in this series? Will the Flyers pull through and advance?
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
Cool Matvei Michkov merchandise
About Author
