3 Takeaways From Flyers’ Game 4 Loss vs. Penguins

As rain fell outside Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday night, a giant cloud hung over the Pittsburgh Penguins’ dressing room. This may be an unexpected playoff run for the Penguins, but the consequences of it ending—especially so soon—are real. There are only so many chances left for Sidney Crosby and company, and a sweep to the hated Philadelphia Flyers would’ve been a demoralizing way to go out.

It would have felt sweet for the Flyers to finish the job on Saturday, in front of another sold-out crowd soaking in the first Stanley Cup Playoff games in Philadelphia since 2018. But just like in each of the first four Battle of Pennsylvania meetings in the Crosby era, the first chance to close out the series would not be the last. The Penguins extended the series with a 4-2 win, securing a return to the Steel City on Monday night.

Penguins Veterans Leading the Way

For all the talk of the young players powering the Penguins’ resurgence and the crafty moves general manager Kyle Dubas made since arriving in 2023 to get Pittsburgh back to the playoffs, this is still a veteran team. In fairness to the old guard, they held up their end of the bargain in the first three games, with Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson scoring all four Penguins goals.

They amplified their impact with their backs against the wall on Saturday night. Crosby delivered (perhaps) one last blow in front of Flyers fans, one of the most mutually antagonizing relationships in the NHL. Just like Malkin in Game 3, Crosby buried a one-timer from the slot on the power play (PP), helping the Pittsburgh PP get back on track after a difficult start to the series.

Once again, Crosby was on the scene early in the third period, craftily using his skate to win a 4-on-4 board battle. Kris Letang has received a lot of criticism before and in this series, and for fair reasons. But he, too, offered a throwback moment, getting the puck in the middle and unloading a blast for his first goal and point of the series, punctuated by a big celebration as the Penguins restored their two-goal lead.

Couple that with a two-point game for Rickard Rakell and another assist for Karlsson, and Pittsburgh showed the poise expected of one of the league’s most battle-tested teams. It wasn’t just the offense; the Penguins delivered an excellent defensive effort down the stretch, giving the Flyers a taste of their own medicine in keeping them out of the high-danger areas after the lead was trimmed back to one.

Silovs Flips the Goaltending Script

Head coach Rick Tocchet has seen Arturs Silovs star after entering the middle of a playoff series before. Tocchet was essentially forced into using Silovs during the 2024 Western Conference Quarterfinals with the Vancouver Canucks after his top two goaltenders both went down with injuries. Silovs posted a .940 save percentage to win all three of his starts against the Nashville Predators, including a shutdown on the road in the series-clincher, despite not receiving any goal support until the final two minutes.

After Stuart Skinner struggled for the first time in the series in Game 3, Penguins head coach Dan Muse made a change in net and was rewarded. Silovs wasn’t tested at all in the first 10-plus minutes, so he worked with a lead almost the entire game. But that shouldn’t detract from his play, as he made numerous quality saves throughout the night.

In contrast, Dan Vladař was shaky in his first start after a collision with Bryan Rust brought his availability into question until Saturday morning. Vladař got a piece of Crosby’s one-timer in the first, but it bounced off the top of his glove and into the back of the net. But it was his mishandling of the puck early in the second period that really stung, as Rakell stripped him in the trapezoid and dove to slide the puck into the empty net.