Penguins' Sidney Crosby And Kris Letang Proved They Aren't Done Yet Vs. Flyers
After starting this percolating, best-of-seven playoff series with three straight losses, it would have been easy for the aging Pittsburgh Penguins to pack it in Saturday and make tee times for their favorite golf courses.
But there's too much pride on the Penguins to allow that to happen.
Not surprisingly, it was the veterans who led the way as the Penguins played their best game of the series and stayed alive with a hard-earned 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the deflated Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The old guys showed they still have something left in the tank against the upstart, younger Flyers.
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Imitating The Flyers
With their playoff hopes flickering, the Penguins took a page out of the Flyers' playbook.
Imitating the way the Flyers played in the first three games, Pittsburgh had more physicality in its game and displayed a close-checking style. The Pens also did a better job navigating through the neutral zone.
As a result, the Penguins – which had a 36-29 advantage in hits – kept their season alive.
Philadelphia has a 3-1 lead in the series, which resumes Monday night at 7 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh.
But the Penguins have hope. They are returning home, and they found a blueprint to beat their cross-state rivals: tight-checking, physicality and hustle.
The hustle was provided by Rickard Rakell on one of the game's most critical goals.
Hustling behind the net, he blocked a clearing attempt by Flyers goalie Vladar. The puck caromed in front, and Rakell made a diving swipe at it – barely getting to the puck ahead of Vladar – and put it into the net.
That gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead with 18:57 left in the second.
Vladar took responsibility for the first two goals, including a power-play tally by Crosby that bounced off his glove.
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After the loss, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said the Flyers had some skaters who looked "sluggish" in the first part of the game.
"We threw too many pucks away," he said. "That's what happens when you're not moving your feet. But then we started to come" in the second half of the game.
"I don't think anyone expected us to be up 3-0," said Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, who fired a shot off the crossbar when the Flyers faced a 2-1 deficit late in the second period. "A 3-1 series lead, we'll take it."
Sanheim pointed out that the Flyers have bounced back all season in games after losses.
"We've been playing well on the road, and we'll put our best effort there and hopefully get it done," right winger Travis Konecny said.
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 7:00 AM.