The Battle of Pennsylvania Returns: Flyers Take on the Penguins in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
On April 13th, 2026, it was officially confirmed that the Pittsburgh Penguins would face off against their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The rivalry between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia is deeply rooted, fueled notably by the presence of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby since he was drafted in 2005. Intense matchups between Crosby and former Flyers captain Claude Giroux have heightened this rivalry, with the two facing each other 65 times. Giroux, now with Ottawa, has a superior regular-season record in these encounters, while Crosby leads in playoff wins. The competition between the teams is further charged by memorable incidents, such as Crosby losing teeth to Derian Hatcher’s high stick during his rookie season, and his well-known statement from 2012: “I don’t like them. I don’t like any guy on their team.” Flyers fans often see Crosby as a “villain,” and the rivalry is marked by heightened physical and emotional play, especially when the teams are matched in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia both enter the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 98 points, with the Penguins taking the second spot in the Metropolitan Division, while the Flyers have the third spot; both teams sit behind the Hurricanes, who have 113 points and have secured the one-seed in the Eastern Conference. The five-time Stanley Cup Champions split their series with the City of Brotherly Love, as each team won two out of four games. Both of Pittsburgh’s wins came in regulation, while Philadelphia claimed overtime victories both times they defeated the Penguins. Both teams are led by new additions among players and coaches. The Flyers hired Rick Tocchet to be their 25th head coach on May 14th, 2025, while the Penguins hired Dan Muse on June 4th, 2025, replacing two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Mike Sullivan after nearly 10 years at the helm. On June 23rd, 2025, the Flyers traded forward Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for center Trevor Zegras. Zegras made an immediate impact for the Fly Guys, recording 67 points in 81 games played, which was good for second on the team behind alternate captain Travis Konecny. On July 2nd, 2025, the Pens signed right winger Anthony Mantha to a one-year contract. Mantha, who was coming off an injury and a season in which he played only 13 games for the Calgary Flames, showed what he is capable of in a new system. The 30-year-old forward finished his season with 64 points in 81 games, making him fourth on the team in points and the Penguins' leading goal-scorer with 33 goals. The Penguins' president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas, did not stop there. Players such as Egor Chinakhov, Justin Brazeau, Parker Wotherspoon, Elmer Soderblom, Stuart Skinner, Arturs Silovs, and 11th overall pick Ben Kindel have all played incredibly for Pittsburgh this season, catapulting them into a playoff position when no one thought they would.
The playoff announcement came after the Flyers defeated the Eastern Conference’s top team, the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2 in a shootout on April 13th. While the Penguins have been in the mix for a playoff spot all season, the Flyers had to fight to get there, winning 14 of their last 20 games, picking up 29 points along the way. At the start of the 2025 NHL season, both teams were expected to make the playoffs, as Pittsburgh had just a 7.6% chance to make them, with many believing a narrative that the team was "too old", as they have the fifth-oldest roster in the NHL. Philadelphia had just a 3.8% chance to make the playoffs at the start of the season, and they became the first team in NHL history to make the playoffs after being nine points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with 60 or more games played. Pittsburgh returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2021, where they lost in the First Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs to the New York Rangers in Game Seven. The Flyers return for the first time since 2019, when they lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the New York Islanders in Game Seven. The Pens and the Flyers last matched up against each other in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where Pittsburgh defeated Philadelphia in Game Six on April 22nd, 2018 by a score of 8-5.
Pittsburgh’s fast-paced offensive attack will rival Philadelphia’s goal-tending, as the Flyers' starting goaltender, Dan Vladar, is third in the NHL in goals-allowed-average with 2.42 per game. The orange and white will have to watch out for the Penguins' power-play and power-kill, where the yellow and black rank seventh in both. Both stadium atmospheres are electric, and could easily turn the tide of this game for either team, with Pittsburgh’s aggressive bull-horn and “Let’s Go Pens” chant rivaling the old-school bully nature present in Philadelphia. One interesting matchup to watch will be how Zegras and Konecny can surpass the Penguins' defense. With veteran defenseman Kris Letang playing his age-38 season, as well as Erik Karlsson being praised for his offensive abilities rather than his defense, the priority falls primarily on Ryan Shea and Wotherspoon, both capable players, but shoving them into a dangerous situation against the Flyers' top point-scorers. If the Penguins can hold onto their relentless offense, spreading the puck across the ice for their top players, they have a chance to ramp up the score against the Flyers every time they step onto the ice.
With everything that this rivalry has been built on, it would be a shame to see it end in four or five games, and with both the Flyers and Penguins proving the NHL world wrong and flipping the script, this matchup is practically guaranteed to be filled with blood, sweat, and tears. Pittsburgh ended its regular season with three straight losses. Two of these games, the Pens rested most of their starters, yet they still showed a potential momentum stoppage, with Karlsson even stating that the Penguins need to keep their momentum and respond quickly. The Flyers, on the other hand, have been playing incredible hockey, taking down some of the top teams in the league, such as the Canadiens, Hurricanes, Bruins, and Stars, having a 7-3 record in their last 10 games twice since the start of March. It seems as if the expectation is trending towards the Flyers coming in with a vengeance against Pittsburgh. Anger, emotion, hatred, and disgust have ignited this rivalry for as long as anyone can remember, and seeing both teams, which were both deemed as long-shots to make the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, face each other in the first round is destined to create another classic. This matchup will go down to the wire, every game being decided by the last shot, the last save, and that final horn. Both teams will fight for their lives because that is what this rivalry is all about, but the Penguins' combination of veteran presence, combined with their new additions, will be too much for the Flyers, as they will win this series in game seven and move on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
