(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Avery Hayes (85) and Philadelphia Flyers’ Jamie Drysdale (9) fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/ Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Philadelphia, PA) The Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs after the Flyers clinched their spot by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout in Philadelphia last night. The Penguins return to the playoffs of the NHL for the first time since 2022 and the Flyers are back in it for the first time since 2020. The last time the Penguins won an NHL playoff series was when they played the Flyers in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which was ironically the last time the two teams met in the NHL postseason. The Penguins won the series 4-2.