No shortage of battlegrounds in Battle of Pennsylvania playoff series

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers are set to renew their storied rivalry with their series in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It will be the first iteration of the Battle of Pennsylvania in the postseason since 2018 when the Penguins emerged victorious, and while there are some familiar faces involved, especially in Pittsburgh, it’s almost an entirely different group in Philadelphia.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen were joined by former NHL video coach Steve Peters to discuss what he’s looking for when the series gets underway between the Keystone State’s big rivals.

Tyler Yaremchuk: It’s time to sink our teeth into a few playoff matchups, and let’s start with The Battle of Pennsylvania. We’ve been talking a lot of Flyers over the last couple of weeks on the shows, but when you look at this Philly team, the way they’re playing as of late, when you look at the makeup of this Pittsburgh team, what are some of the key battlegrounds in this series that you’ll be looking for?

Steve Peters: This Philadelphia team is a team I’ve been saying was not going to make the playoffs. Even as it got closer to the end of the [regular season], [I thought] they’re going to falter, they’re going to go back to who they were before the Olympic break, and they continue to win. I think one, you’ve got to go to the special teams. The Flyers power play has stunk all season. They’re last on the power play, and they’re 29th since the Olympic break, and the Penguins have a top 10 penalty kill. The special teams is always a factor when you get to the playoffs. And I think that’s an area that the Philadelphia has to be better. They’re going to have to find a way to score on the power play. I think adding Porter Martone late in the season has helped their power play get better over the last little bit. I think that’s going to be important, but that’s one of the areas, and the physicality to me is going to be one of the biggest areas. Philly’s fourth in hits per 60. Pittsburgh is 30th. Philadelphia can push you around. They want to play along the boards; they want to play tough. They want to beat you in the corners. I think that’s an area that might sway this, but let’s face this. This is the Pittsburgh Penguins. They’ve got Sidney Crosby. They’ve got Malkin. This team is more experienced. They’re more experienced in the playoffs. Philadelphia is just finding their way. This is a team that made the playoffs that I don’t think they’re ready to be in the playoffs yet, meaning I don’t think this is the big push. We’re going to see the Philadelphia Flyers through their rebuild and ready to make an impact. I think that’s the biggest factor ,and that’s Sidney Crosby. I think experience versus toughness, I’ll take the experience all day long.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…