(File Photo: Source for Photo: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) takes to the ice during player introductions before an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) — Tom Wilson had a goal and two assists, and the Washington Capitals held on for a win in Alex Ovechkin’s final home opener, 5-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Anthony Beauvillier, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Tuch and Ryan Leonard also scored for the Capitals, who introduced their roster one by one before the game, saving Ovechkin for last. The Russian star’s two kids handled that announcement, and the crowd gave a standing ovation.

Ovechkin announced earlier in the week that this season would be the last in the NHL for the league’s career leader in goals.

Bryan Rust, Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson scored for the Penguins, who nearly rallied from a 4-1 second-period deficit.

This is the 22nd straight season Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby have played against each other at some point. Only one forward duo in NHL history has clashed in more consecutive seasons: Mark Messier and Ron Francis, who played each other in 23.

Crosby was on the ice for every Washington even-strength goal, finishing with a minus-4. His only career minus-5 was March 6, 2014, at San Jose.

Beauvillier opened the scoring for Washington after just 23 seconds. The Penguins needed less than a minute to tie it on Bryan Rust’s goal from in close.

Veteran defenseman Kris Letang of the Penguins played a blind pass in his own zone and paid for it when the puck went to Pierre-Luc Dubois behind the net. One pass later, and Wilson was making it 2-1 Capitals from alone in front.

Those same two players combined in the second period to make it 3-1 after another Pittsburgh mistake. Silovs went behind his net, but when he played the puck along the boards Wilson was right there to collect it and find Dubois in front.

Tuch intercepted a pass at his own blue line, and suddenly he and Wilson were bearing down alone on Silovs. After two quick passes back and forth, Tuch scored to put Washington up by three.

Novak quickly answered for the Penguins, and then Robertson cut the lead to one with a deflection from the slot.

It was 4-3 after two, but Leonard’s power-play goal in the third gave the Capitals a bit of a cushion.

Later in the third, Washington goalie Logan Thompson kept the lead at two by stopping Blake Lizotte on a breakaway just after the Pittsburgh forward came out of the penalty box.

Declan Carlile of the Penguins was shaken up in the third after Dubois was assessed a minor penalty for boarding him.

Up next

Penguins: At Columbus on Friday night.

Capitals: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Winnipeg Jets goaltender Clay Stevenson (33) celebrates with Morgan Barron (36) at the end of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alex Iafallo had a goal and an assist, Clay Stevenson made 29 saves, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Monday night.

Pittsburgh’s Declan Carlile scored 8:53 into the third period to tie the game at 2-2, but Cole Perfetti scored the winner on a wrist shot just nine seconds later, assisted by Josh Morrissey, to put the Jets ahead to stay.

Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets, who have won two in a row after losing their season opener.

Benjamin Kindel also scored for the Penguins and Carlile added an assist. Sergei Murashov made 30 saves for the Penguins.

The Jets outhit the Penguins by 12, 23 to 11.

Up next

Jets: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Penguins: Visit the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Tommy Novak (18) gets a shot past the stick of Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes for a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tommy Novak scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 6-5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Novak converted a 2-on-1 from Evgeni Malkin at 1:33 of overtime, as Pittsburgh recovered after allowing a four-goal lead in the second period slip away.

Malkin scored a power-play goal and had two assists. He recorded his 1,411th point, passing Dale Hawerchuk for 22nd place in NHL history.

Ben Kindel was activated from injured reserve and scored a power-play goal, while Sam Girard and Declan Carlile also scored for Pittsburgh.

Sidney Crosby had an assist, the 1,109th of his career, which tied Hall of Fame forward Joe Thornton for seventh-most in NHL history.

Arturs Silovs stopped 20 shots.

Franchise icon, former owner and hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux took part in a ceremonial puck drop to celebrate the Penguins’ 60th season.

Cole Caufield scored twice, while Nick Suzuki, Chris Kreider and Ivan Demidov also scored for the Canadiens, who trailed 5-1 in the second period. Kreider scored with 1:08 to play and Demidov tied the game with 44 seconds left in regulation.

Montreal, which reached the Eastern Conference Final last season, sought to win its first two games of a season for the first time since 2015-16.

Jakub Dobes made 24 saves.

The Penguins outshot Montreal 23-5 during a 25-minute stretch and opened a 5-1 lead thanks to a four-goal second period.

Malkin scored his second power-play goal of the season, while Carlile, Girard, Novak and Kindel added second-period goals.

Suzuki started the Canadiens comeback at 18:46 of the second period before Caufield, Kreider and Demidov forced overtime with goals in the third.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Begin a four-game homestand Tuesday against Carolina.

Penguins: Host Winnipeg Monday before playing six of their next seven on the road.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Filip Hallander (11), Ville Koivunen (41), Kaedan Korczak (6) and Samuel Girard (49) celebrate after a goal by Koivunen during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Evgeni Malkin, Hendrix Lapierre and Filip Hallander scored in the second period and Arturs Silovs stopped 19 shots to help the Pittsburgh Penguins steamroll the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 on Wednesday night.

Silovs posted his third career shutout in his 57th start. Nick Robertson scored two goals and Ville Koivunen and Egor Chinakhov also scored for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby added an assist.

The Penguins’ season ended on the same Philadelphia ice in April when the Flyers won a first-round playoff series in six games.

The Flyers left the clincher to a roaring ovation on Cam York’s winner. Five months later, the Flyers were soundly booed off the ice – reaching a crescendo after the second period – and the opening night festivities were spoiled for a team trying to become a force in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins are trying to run it back at least one more time between the longtime core of Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang. Malkin signed a one-year deal to remain in Pittsburgh, and the hope is there’s enough magic left to help put the Penguins in position to win a playoff series for the first time in nearly a decade.

The 40-year-old Malkin ripped a one-timer from the slot early in the second period for the 3-0 lead that also gave him 100 career points against the Flyers. He became the sixth player with at least 100 points against the Flyers. Crosby’s assist on Robertson’s game-opening goal extended his record with 140 career points against Philly.

The Penguins scored five goals on their first 18 shots against Dan Vladar. Vladar didn’t play a full period in the preseason as he battled an unspecified injury, and with the Flyers in the first game of a back-to-back set, he was left in the game to take the beating.

Vladar knocked Robertson’s second goal of the game into the net with the back of his skate in a gaffe that made it 6-0.

Up next

Penguins play their home opener Saturday against Montreal.

Flyers play Thursday at New Jersey.

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Philadelphia Flyers’ Cam York (8) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal during overtime in Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cam York flicked a wrist shot from the point, chucked his stick into the stands and chased away years of bad hockey in Philadelphia.

York snapped the tension and a scoreless tie with the goal of the former first-round pick’s career, burying the winner 17:32 into overtime that ignited a wild celebration and sent the Philadelphia Flyers into the second round for the first time in six years with a 1-0 Game 6 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

The Flyers are set for a second-round showdown against Carolina.

“Just tried to put it there,” York said. “We knew that it was going to be a greasy one. It felt really good to see that one go in.”

Dan Vladar was again sensational in the net and stopped all 42 shots and prevented the Penguins from playing for a shot at playoff history.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tried to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0. They won two straight to force Game 6.

It is the Flyers who are moving on in coach Rick Tocchet’s first season.

“It’s been a long time,” Tocchet said. “I know there’s been a lot of frustration.”

Arturs Silovs made 31 saves. Crosby skated over and consoled Silovs on the ice as the Flyers’ theme song — Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” — blasted throughout the arena.

“We were a shot away from going back to Pittsburgh for Game 7,” Crosby said. “It comes down to bounces sometimes. Putting yourself in that position is tough. I think we all had a lot of belief we could dig ourselves out of it. It’s just unfortunate we got behind early in the series.”

The last playoff game to head to overtime scoreless was Winnipeg and Edmonton in a 2021 first-round series. The Jets won 1-0 in the first OT.

The Flyers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they last reached the second round in the bubble season. They are in the second round in a full NHL season for the first time since 2012.

“So happy for the guys in that room,” York said. “We battled all year long for this position.”

Silovs, who allowed about four goals per game over his last 10 starts of the regular season, steadied the Penguins in place of the ineffective Stuart Skinner with wins in Games 4 and 5 and about played like a Vezina Trophy winner in Game 6.

Matvei Michkov, the Flyer’s leading scorer after the Olympic break, was scratched in Game 5. He returned to the lineup determined to be a postseason difference-maker. He had a great chance in the second period on a breakaway but was stopped. The Flyers kept the puck in the offensive zone and Michkov swooped in and tried to poke the puck into the corner of the net, only for Silovs to again clamp down and deny the goal.

The Flyers, the last team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot, had 10 giveaways in the first period and made it six straight games in the series without a goal in the first period.

They can try to end that streak against a Hurricanes team that just swept the Ottawa Senators.

Kris Letang dropped Travis Konecny with a right hand as the second period ended and the long-time Penguin started the third in the penalty box. No matter. The Flyers came up empty with the man advantage — Michkov was wide on a one-timer — and they fell at that point to 2 for 17 on the power play in the series.

Vladar played like the team MVP he was in the regular season, willing the Flyers to the second round. Crosby early in the third flicked the puck from behind the net at Vladar. Perhaps auditioning for a spot in the World Cup, Vladar headed it like a soccer star over the back of the net and the game remained scoreless.

That was just one sign the night belonged to the Flyers.

“It’s a lot right now,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “At no point am I expecting the season to end today.”

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Elmer Soderblom (25) celebrates with Ben Kindel (81) and Anthony Mantha (39) after scoring against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period of Game 5 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Connor Dewar, Kris Letang and Elmer Soderblom scored and the Pittsburgh Penguins avoided elimination for the second time in 48 hours with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia in Game 5 of their first-round series on Monday night.

Sidney Crosby shook off a shot to his left knee to add two assists for the Penguins, who cut the Flyers’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

Game 6 is Wednesday in Philadelphia, where the pressure will be on the Flyers to avoid putting themselves in danger of becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to blow a series after winning the first three games.

“We know it’s a big challenge going into there,” Crosby said. “But I think we have a lot of belief in our group, and we’ve done it time and time again.”

Alex Bump scored in his playoff debut for Philadelphia, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it on Travis Sanheim’s second goal of the series 15:06 into the second.

Crosby, who limped to the bench and then to the training room for treatment minutes earlier after a blast from the point by teammate Ryan Shea appeared to hit the top of his left knee, helped put the Penguins back in front just over two minutes later when he fed the puck to Letang at the top of the Philadelphia zone.

Letang sent a shot toward Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar that sailed wide of the net before bouncing back toward Vladar. The puck smacked off Vladar’s left pad, then his right and across the goal line to give Pittsburgh the lead for good.

“Bounces are part of the game,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “But I think you earn them when you’re working and you try to do the right things. That’s usually when the bounces go your way.”

After four games of mostly low-event hockey, Game 5 started with a frantic pace, a style that favors the Penguins, who finished as the NHL’s third-highest-scoring team during the regular season.

That offense went largely missing while Pittsburgh fell into a 3-0 hole. Pushed to the brink, it has returned with a flourish, and this time it wasn’t just Crosby, Letang and Evgeni Malkin shouldering the burden.

Soderblom’s first goal of the playoffs and Dewar’s second gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead in the second period. Philadelphia responded behind Bump and Sanheim, but Letang’s fluky score late in the second was the difference.

Pittsburgh will take the ice on Wednesday, having all the momentum after two games in which they looked like the resilient, resourceful group that was among the NHL’s biggest surprises.

The Flyers and their late playoff surge were one of the others, though Philadelphia and its talented young core will have the difficult task of finishing off a more experienced group with Hall of Famers scattered across the roster.

“They are a veteran team, they know what it takes to win,” Vladar said. “We are still a young team. We’ve got to learn that. We’ve got to bounce back. Still try to play our game, not their game.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, right, reacts behind Philadelphia Flyers’ Luke Glendening after scoring during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each scored goals and the three-time Stanley Cup champion teammates are headed back to Pittsburgh after they helped the Penguins avoid a first-round series sweep with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 on Saturday night.

Game 5 is Monday in Pittsburgh.

“It’s only one,” Crosby said. “But I think it gives us some life. That looked more like our game.”

Rickard Rakell also scored, and Connor Dewar sealed the win with a late empty-netter for the Penguins. Penguins coach Dan Muse made the right call with the season on the line to bench starting goalie Stuart Skinner in favor of Arturs Silovs, who responded with 25 saves.

“I thought he played great,” Muse said. “Big saves. I got a lot of confidence in both guys.”

The 38-year-old Crosby, a career-long foil for the Flyers, not only scored his first goal of the series, but he also set a savvy screen in the third period on defenseman Travis Sanheim that allowed Letang to have a clean look when he ripped his first goal of the series past Dan Vladar for a 3-1 lead.

The goal was crucial after Travis Konecny scored to make it 3-2 and ignite the “Let’s go Flyers!” chants that had largely been dormant with the Flyers down early.

The Penguins received a solid effort from Silovs in the net after Skinner was ineffective with three losses and an .873 save percentage. Silovs, who went 19-12-8 this season, made his 11th career playoff start; the previous 10 came with Vancouver in 2023-24 when it was coached by Rick Tocchet.

Tocchet worked wonders with the Flyers in his first season on the bench and it was his fiery postgame speech after an overtime win in March that sparked an R-rated rallying cry.

The Flyers winked at the unprintable battle cry and gave away Game 4 T-shirts to every fan that read: “Puck Everybody.”

Crosby said, not tonight.

Crosby scored on a one-timer against Vladar only 5 seconds into a power play late in the first period for a 1-0 lead.

Vladar, voted the Bobby Clarke team MVP, stayed in the lineup after he suffered an unspecified arm injury in Game 3. Vladar took off both days of the series break and showed no sign of any physical discomfort.

Vladar, incredulously, let a mental gaffe cost the Flyers a goal only 63 seconds into the second period when he misplayed the puck behind the net. Well out of place, an aggressive Rakell jostled the puck free and poked in an empty-netter for the 2-0 lead for Pittsburgh’s first multigoal lead of the series.

“Nobody’s perfect,” Vladar said.

Denver Barkey deflected Trevor Zegras’ shot past Silvos that cut it to 2-1 with 4:20 left in the second period. Barkey and Zegras are roommates — and jelled just as well as linemates.

They can now mull over what went wrong on the plane ride back to Pittsburgh. The Flyers won three straight games seven times this season but hadn’t won four straight games since February 2024.

“I like the fight back,” Tocchet said. “That’s a good hockey team over there. It’s hard to win every game.”

NHL playoff history is still against Crosby and the Penguins. Only four teams that trailed 3-0 in a seven-game series have come all the way back to win — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1980 New York Islanders, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Philadelphia Flyers’ Trevor Zegras, left, celebrates past Pittsburgh Penguins’ Parker Wotherspoon after scoring a goal during the second period of Game 3 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trevor Zegras, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler scored three goals on four shots in the second period in Philadelphia’s first home playoff game in eight years, pushing the Flyers to the brink of a sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-2 Game 3 win on Wednesday night in their best-of-seven first-round series.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Philadelphia.

The Flyers’ trio of goal scorers gave their raucous fans more reason to celebrate than just a first home playoff game since April 22, 2018, and first home playoff win since April 20, 2016. They can clinch their first playoff series win since the 2020 bubble season — and they can do it against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

“It was great to experience that again,” Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. “We’re happy, but we’re also happy for the city, the fans. They’ve supported us through ups and downs.”

Dan Vladar, shaken up a bit in the third with an apparent right hand or wrist injury, stopped 28 shots and again outplayed embattled Stuart Skinner in net.

Not long after Vladar was hit, Erik Karlsson scored on the power play to cut it to 3-2.

Forget the rally. Noah Cates put the finishing touches on one of the biggest Flyers’ wins in the last 16 years with a power-play goal for a 4-2 lead. Owen Tippett added an empty-netter in the waning minutes.

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said Vladar was “banged up.”

Flyers fans dressed all in orange and came ready to blow the roof off the arena in support of the first playoff home game — and Gritty’s first ever — in a city where they were once automatic. Follow the sound of the boos and they were directed to an area where scattered Penguins fans tested their luck and good health wearing Crosby jerseys in Philadelphia.

The Flyers wasted all the pregame energy in a hurry when Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal only 4:18 into the game. The Penguins were doomed by an 0 for 5 effort on the power play in Game 2 and Crosby went scoreless in Pittsburgh. Crosby’s assist helped the Penguins, who had the seventh-ranked power play in the regular season, score their first power-play goal in eight attempts in the series.

Malkin’s 29th career postseason power-play goal tied him with Mario Lemieux for most in Penguins history.

The game erupted in the second period into a scene straight out of the days when the old school enforcers of the Broad Street Bullies era roamed the ice.

Penguins forward Bryan Rust slammed Travis Konecny to the ice and smothered the Flyers forward and all the lines joined the fray until they were separated by officials. Konecny ripped off his helmet and dropped his gloves and beckoned Rust to fight him. No dice. They instead traded verbal barbs from the penalty box.

The Flyers and Penguins could have held team photo day inside their respective penalty boxes.

Rust got four minutes while four of his teammates joined him and Konecny and four of his teammates tagged along inside a jammed box.

Public address announcer Lou Nolan had just started to rattle off the list of names — “the penalties, we think … ” — when Zegras ripped one past Skinner for the power-play goal that evened the score 1-1. The Flyers mobbed Zegras and pinned him in celebration against the penalty box.

“There were a lot of them in there,” Zegras said. “I figured they would be jumping around.”

Nick Seeler joined them to make it six in there 61 seconds later when he was whistled for cross-checking.

“There’s a scrum. We get the extra penalty,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “That changed everything.”

Ristolainen — whose 820 regular season games before making the playoffs were the most of any active player — made it 2-1 and Flyers started fans started derisive “Skinner! Skinner” chants that echoed long after the go-ahead goal. Seeler scored 2:12 later on a shot from the point for the 3-1 lead — and made it 3 of 4 on Skinner after he stopped the first 18 shots.

“We got the bodies in here,” Skinner said. “We’ve got a resilient group. I can say that over and over and over again, but we’ve proven it. We’ve shown it. This is the group that can definitely come back from this deficit.”

Flyers fans, on their feet since comedian Shane Gillis helped set off the ceremonial pregame pryo, gave the arena an electric feel.

“It was nice to see the building rocking like that,” Tocchet said. “It’s been awhile.”

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin (71) has a shot deflected by Philadelphia Flyers’ Cam York (8) in front of Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Vladar stopped 27 shots, rookie Porter Martone scored for the second straight game and the Philadelphia Flyers shut out Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series.

The 19-year-old Martone became the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to score in each of his first two playoff games when he beat Stuart Skinner deep into the second period to put Philadelphia in front. Garnet Hathaway added a short-handed goal a few minutes later, and Luke Glendening chipped in an empty-netter late in the third.

Vladar made it stand up as the red-hot Flyers, who needed a scorching finishing stretch just to reach the playoffs, frustrated the suddenly offensively challenged Penguins all night.

“He’s been like that all year for us,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said of Vladar. “Guys enjoy playing for him.”

Game 3 is Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh, the NHL’s third-highest scoring team during a resurgent regular season, again struggled to get pucks on net against Vladar. The Penguins, who had just 17 shots in a Game 1 loss on Saturday night, vowed to come out with more jump.

While Pittsburgh controlled long swaths of the game after another slow start, including sustained pressure in the third, it could not find a way to slip the puck past Vladar.

“(We) should be frustrated, we just lost two games at home,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “But with frustration it’s how are you going to respond. … Nobody is happy. Nobody should be.”

The 28-year-old Vladar, who had never won a playoff game in his six-year career before this series, held firm as the Flyers headed home with momentum.

Pittsburgh shuffled its top two lines midway through the game looking for a jolt. While it created more opportunities, it did not result in more goals. The Penguins went 0 for 5 on the power play to fall to 0 for 7 with the man advantage during the series.

Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for the Penguins, including a couple of breakaways that could have broken things open, but it wasn’t against the young Flyers, who seem to be gaining confidence with each passing game.

Martone, who was playing collegiately at Michigan State last month, scored his fifth goal in 10 games as a pro when a rebound off a Travis Konecny shot came right to his stick. Martone powered it into the open net to put Philadelphia in front with 6:21 to go in the second.

“I made this jump because I believed I could help this hockey team,” Martone said. “I hopped on a moving train and it’s been good ever since.”

The Flyers were on the penalty kill just over four minutes later when they doubled their lead. Owen Tippett fought off a pair of Penguins to keep the puck in the Pittsburgh zone and then fed Hathaway, who deposited it into the open net on a night the only place Philadelphia dominated was the scoreboard.

“Sometimes in the playoffs you have to win those ugly games,” Tocchet said. “It was an ugly game for us. … Sometimes you’ve got to win games like that.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Philadelphia Flyers’ Nick Seeler (24) collides with Pittsburgh Penguins’ Egor Chinakhov during the first period of Game 1 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Travis Sanheim scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Philadelphia Flyers announced their return to the playoffs with a 3-2 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

Philadelphia pulled off a stunner in the opener when Sanheim split a pair of Penguins at the top of the zone, glided down the slot and then fired the puck by Stuart Skinner. Porter Martone, the Flyers’ 19-year-old rookie forward, provided some needed insurance when he beat Skinner on a wrist shot with 2:37 to play.

Game 2 is in Pittsburgh on Monday.

Jamie Drysdale also scored for the Flyers, who hardly appeared intimidated by an electric PPG Paints Arena crowd buzzing by Pittsburgh’s first playoff appearance since 2022. Dan Vladar stopped 14 shots to pick up the first postseason win of his six-year career.

“We’ve been playing big games for the last month, month and a half, meaningful games, must-win games,” Flyers forward Sean Couturier said. “We’re put to the test and thought we did a good job of preparing ourselves and being ready.”

Evgeni Malkin scored his 68th career playoff goal for Pittsburgh but the Penguins, the NHL’s third-highest scoring team during the regular season, had trouble sustaining pressure against the Flyers. Bryan Rust pounded home a rebound with 1:01 remaining to get Pittsburgh within a goal, but Vladar stoned Anthony Mantha in the final seconds as Philadelphia held on.

“We got away from things that worked,” first-year Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “Part of that is intensity. Everything is ramped up in the playoffs. They’ve been playing that way for a while.”

The eighth all-time playoff meeting between the cross-state rivals may also be the most surprising. The Penguins’ retooling under general manager Kyle Dubas unexpectedly picked up speed under Muse.

The Flyers — who arrived at PPG Paints Arena for their morning skate wearing T-shirts with sleeves that had “3.8 percent” printed on them as a nod to their slim postseason chances a couple months ago — used a scorching final stretch to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Philadelphia wasted little time keeping that momentum going. The Flyers held Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins in check while deftly countering to create numerous odd-man rushes.

The new kids helped Philadelphia match Pittsburgh hit for hit and then smashed the gas over the final 20 minutes, with Matrone’s first playoff goal — in just his 10th-ever NHL game — providing the final difference.

“I think coming in here, I think the older guys have done a great job, not just with me, but all the guys on the team, showing us the ropes,” Martone said after becoming the youngest Flyer to score in his postseason debut.

And the ropes dictate that a promising start guarantees nothing in a best-of-seven.

“We won one game, this is going to be a long series,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said. “Those kids, they were hooting and hollering a little bit, but they were pretty even keel.”