With the regular season finally having come to a close, the NHL has finally released the schedule for the first round of the playoffs, and the Philadelphia Flyers will feature in a primetime slot on Saturday night to kick things off.
Game 1: Saturday, April 18th at 8 P.M.
Game 2: Monday. April 20th at 7 P.M.
Game 3: Wednesday, April 22nd at 7 P.M.
Game 4: Saturday, April 25th at 8 P.M.
If necessary (all start times TBD):
Game 5: Monday, April 27th
Game 6: Wednesday, April 29th
Game 7: Saturday, May 2nd
Both the Flyers and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers will be featured in the playoffs this year. However, they won’t be sharing the Xfinity Mobile Arena on the same day with the 76ers playing their home games on the 24th, 26th, and 30th, if necessary.
With the Flyers going to toe-to-toe with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a lot more attention will be on this series. Over the years the in-state rivals have given us a lot to look forward to after riveting feuds in their Conference Finals tilt in 2008, as well as their first round matchups in 2009, 2012, and 2018.
The Penguins have come out victorious in 3 of those series, including their most recent matchup in 2018. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins took care of business in 6 games, despite a Herculean effort from Sean Couturier in Game 6. The future captain scored 3 goals and 2 assists in a losing effort while playing through a torn MCL.
Now, after nearly 8 years, another series has been bestowed upon us, as a new era for the once furious rivalry will begin on Saturday night. Things had stagnated for a bit in the past with the Flyers falling out of contention, but you know it won’t take long for these two clubs to rehash their grievances.
Both teams won 2 games during their season series this year. The Flyers won the first matchup in October via a shootout, Pittsburgh then won the next two games in December and January in regulation, before the Flyers closed things out in March in another shootout.
