The Battle of Pennsylvania is back.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers renew one of hockey’s most heated rivalries Saturday night in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs — Game 1 going at eight o’clock at PPG Paints Arena on ESPN. It marks the first time these two cross-state rivals have met in the postseason since 2018.
The Penguins are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022, led by Sidney Crosby’s 74 points and a career-best 33 goals from Anthony Mantha. Erik Karlsson added 66 points from the blue line. For Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, this could be one of the last play-off runs together — and Pittsburgh’s locker room knows it.
The Pens are favored to win the series at minus-175, with Philadelphia coming in at plus-145. And the regular season numbers back that up — Pittsburgh went two-and-oh-and-two against the Flyers this season, outscoring them 16-to-9 and torching Philadelphia’s penalty kill with a power play that converted at nearly 39 percent in those four meetings.
Philadelphia’s best weapon is goaltender Dan Vladar, who posted a career-high .906 save percentage this season and is peaking at the right time — going five-and-one in his final six starts with a 1.81 GAA.
Game 1, Saturday night. PPG Paints Arena. Let’s go Pens.
Comments