(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.”

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: St. Louis Blues right wing Jimmy Snuggerud, right, is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Le)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jimmy Snuggerud scored twice and assisted on both of Dylan Holloway’s goals in the third period as the St. Louis Blues rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-5 on Tuesday night.

Pittsburgh raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first period despite resting most of its regular players, including Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, with the playoffs looming this weekend. The Blues surged ahead with five consecutive goals in a span of just over 20 minutes, with Holloway and Pavel Buchnevich scoring 44 seconds apart in the third period.

Holloway gave St. Louis its first lead 4:11 into the third on a wrister from the slot that to the stick side against Arturs Silovs, who relieved Stuart Skinner for the third period and made seven saves. Buchnevich added a breakaway goal for his 19th of the season.

Rookie Avery Hayes scored twice for his second career multigoal game, and the Penguins also got goals from Rutger McGroarty, Anthony Mantha and Elmer Soderblom. Hayes’ second goal pulled Pittsburgh within one goal with 7:40 to play.

Holloway added an empty-netter to secure the Blues’ win in their home finale. Jordan Binnington had 18 saves.

Stuart Skinner stopped 17 of 21 shots before getting pulled after St. Louis scored three times in the second period.

The Penguins scored on three of their first six shots despite resting half of their regular lineup. In addition to Crosby and Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Samuel Girard, Blake Lizotte, Connor Dewar and Parker Wotherspoon were scratched with Pittsburgh already locked into its playoff position.

Up next

St. Louis concludes its season Thursday night at playoff-bound Utah.

Pittsburgh awaits a first-round playoff matchup against in-state rival Philadelphia.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) looks on after he faced off with Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Logan Thompson stopped 24 shots, and the Washington Capitals kept their slim playoff hopes alive by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 Sunday in perhaps the final home of Alex Ovechkin’s brilliant career.

To reach the postseason, the Capitals must defeat Columbus in the season finale Tuesday night and hope Philadelphia fails to win either of its last two games.

The 40-year-old Ovechkin intends to wait until the offseason to decide whether to retire or return for a 22nd season. The all-time NHL leader in goals with 929, Ovechkin has played in every game this season and leads the Capitals in goals (32) and points (63).

The spirited, sellout crowd saluted Ovechkin during the game with chants of “One more year!” and “Ovi! Ovi! Ovi!”

Ovechkin helped seal the victory by picking up an assist on an empty-net goal by Connor McMichael, who scored earlier in the third period.

Pittsburgh last week clinched a postseason berth and home-ice advantage in the opening round. But the rivalry between these teams runs deep, and the Penguins tried hard to throw a wet blanket on the Capitals’ playoff hopes and Ovechkin’s big day.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was back on the ice after he and several teammates received a day off Saturday when Washington won in Pittsburgh 6-3. This was the 100th — and perhaps final — matchup between Ovechkin and Crosby, two of the game’s biggest names.

To mark the occasion, the two stars lined up at center ice for the opening faceoff. It was only the 175th career faceoff for Ovechkin, counting playoffs, compared to No. 32,131 for Crosby.

The game was scoreless until Trevor van Riemsdyk jammed the puck under Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner’s right leg at 12:22 of the second period.

That was enough offense for Thompson, who notched his fourth shutout of the season.

Up next

Penguins: Close the regular season at St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Capitals: At Columbus on Tuesday night.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin (8) is defended by Pittsburgh Penguins’ Ryan Graves (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates a goal on Florida Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov (40) as defenseman Connor Clifton (75), center Eetu Luostarinen (27) and defenseman Seth Jones (3) skate nearby during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rickard Rakell scored twice, Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Sunday.

The teams faced off Saturday night and the Penguins beat them 9-4, eliminating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff contention.

Rakell scored his first goal for the Penguins with 48 seconds left in the first period on the power play, assisted on by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. His second came with 1:52 left in the second period.

Bryan Rust and Elmer Soderblom also scored for the Penguins. Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Schwindt each scored for the Panthers.

Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs stopped 29 shots after tandem mate Stuart Skinner was ruled out with an upper-body injury. Daniil Tarasov allowed five goals on 23 shots in defeat.

Up next

Penguins: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Panthers: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea (5) celebratesa goal with right wing Justin Brazeau (16) and defenseman Samuel Girard (49) against the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL game, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had his 14th career hat trick and added an assist to become the 23rd player in NHL history to reach 1,400 career points, and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Florida Panthers 9-4 on Saturday to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff contention.

The Panthers began the season hoping to become the first team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s to win three straight championships. It never came close to happening as injuries and shaky play in net sent them tumbling to the bottom of the standings early in the season, a hole from which they never fully recovered.

While Florida will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years, Pittsburgh is inching toward a return to the postseason after three straight absences.

The Penguins strengthened their hold on second in the Metropolitan Division by blitzing the Panthers during the first half of the second period, pouring in four goals in less than 10 minutes.

Anthony Mantha broke a 2-2 tie with his 31st goal of the season just 1:51 into the second. Malkin then beat Sergei Bobrovsky twice in less than three minutes to create more than enough breathing room.

Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists for Pittsburgh. Noel Acciari and Elmer Soderblom added a goal and an assist. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby picked up a pair of assists to move past Hall of Famer and childhood idol Steve Yzerman and into seventh place on the NHL’s career scoring list (1,756).

Artur Silovs stopped 19 shots for the Penguins and had little work to do after Pittsburgh chased Bobrovsky following Soderblom’s third goal in 15 games since being acquired in a trade with Detroit.

Up next

The teams meet again Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in a rare back-to-back at the same venue.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) scores against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cirelli registered his second career hat trick, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three points, and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved into first place in the Atlantic Division after a 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Zemgus Girgensons scored his 100th career goal and Brayden Point scored his second in 14 games for Tampa Bay, which improved to 7-1-2 in the past 10 games. Jake Guentzel and Gage Goncalves both had two assists while Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 21 saves.

Egor Chinakov scored twice and Rickard Rackell also scored for Pittsburgh. Sam Girard and Kris Letang both had two assists and Stuart Skinner finished with 27 saves.

The Penguins remain in second place in the Metropolitan Division, three points ahead of the New York Islanders.

Cirelli scored Tampa Bay’s first two goals and he added an empty-netter for his first hat trick since Jan. 17, 2020.

Cirelli and Rakell traded goals 1:55 apart in the opening seven minutes of the game before Chinakov gave the Penguins their first lead of the game with a backhander from the right circle at 16:10.

Cirelli notched his second of the game 11 seconds into the second, deflecting a puck away from Bryan Rust and racing up ice for a breakaway, lifting a backhand shot over Skinner for a shorthanded marker.

Point put the Lightning back in front at 14:08 on a rebound. Girgensons took a pass from Gourde behind the net, pulled the puck to his forehand as he reached the crease and tucked a backhander into the open part of the net with 54.7 seconds left in the second.

Kucherov made it 5-2 at 13:50 of the third.

Up next

Pittsburgh: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday

Tampa Bay: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin waits for play to resume in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Monday, March 16, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Egor Chinakov had a goal and an assist, Evgeni Malkin added an assist in his return to the lineup and the Pittsburgh Penguins raced past the sagging Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Tuesday night.

A night after blowing out the New York Islanders on the road, Pittsburgh followed it up with another impressive performance against one of the teams it is trying to fend off for a playoff spot.

Chinakov, Rickard Rakell, and Anthony Mantha scored first-period goals to give the Penguins a massive early cushion that the Red Wings never really threatened to overcome. Justin Brazeau ended a 12-game goal drought, and Stuart Skinner stopped 22 shots for Pittsburgh, which remained in second place in the Metropolitan Division with seven games left in the regular season despite missing veteran forward Bryan Rust, who was a late scratch with a lower-body injury.

Detroit, which was in first place in the Atlantic Division at the season’s midway point, has dropped four of five and remains on the outside of the chase for one of the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots. Dylan Larkin scored to reach the 30-goal plateau for the fifth straight season, but John Gibson, a Pittsburgh native, struggled early and was pulled after the first period while falling to 6-10-1 all-time against his hometown team.

Rakell pushed his point streak to six games when he ripped a shot from the slot that beat Gibson just 4:10 into the first. Rakell has seven goals during his late-season hot streak.

Malkin, who hadn’t played since March 22 due to an upper-body injury, provided a jolt in his return to the lineup. The Russian star was part of a scrum at the Detroit net and somehow helped the puck end up on Mantha’s stick.

Mantha, an 11-year veteran having the finest season of his career, pumped in the rebound 8:34 into the first to make it 2-0. The assist pushed Malkin’s career point total to 1,399.

Chinakov made it 3-0 late in the first when his shot from just outside the left circle slipped by Gibson, and the Penguins cruised from there. The 25-year-old has 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) in 36 games with Pittsburgh after being acquired from Columbus in December.

Up next

Red Wings: At Philadelphia on Thursday.

Penguins: At Tampa Bay on Thursday.