‘The Battle of Pennsylvania’ returns with the 2026 NHL Eastern Conference Quarter Finals. The Philadelphia Flyers were last in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020. The Pittsburgh Penguins were in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs as recently as 2022. However, 2018 would be the last time the Flyers and Penguins went head-to-head in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Pittsburgh winning in six games before losing in the 2018 NHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals to the Washington Capitals.
Tonight, one of the most bitter NHL rivalries breathes new life. At 8pm/ET, a culmination of eight years comes to fruition when Philadelphia goes head-to-head with its intrastate rivals in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This season, the Flyers went 2-2-0 against the Penguins. Each win occurred after regulation time: once in overtime and another in a shootout. In the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, there’s no shootout to lean on. Nonetheless, when the pressure is on, Philadelphia turned into a diamond. That’s the fortitude that goes a long way in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On the opposite end, the Flyers lost two games in regulation to Pittsburgh. Those losses weren’t particularly close. Philadelphia was outscored, 11-4, in two regulation losses.
It all resets in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tale of the Tape
- Power Play: 24.7% (7th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Power Play: 15.7% (32nd) Philadelphia Flyers
- Penalty Kill: 81.4% (7th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Penalty Kill: 77.6% (21st) Philadelphia Flyers
- Faceoff: 49.5% (18th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Faceoff: 48.2% (24th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Goals For: 3.54 (3rd) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Goals For: 2.93 (21st) Philadelphia Flyers
- Goals Against: 2.91 (9th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Goals Against: 3.15 (24th) Pittsburgh Penguins
Injury Report: Philadelphia Flyers
Injury Report: Pittsburgh Penguins
When: 8pm/ET
Where: PPG Paints Arena; Pittsburgh, PA
Watch: ESPN
Series: 0-0
Philadelphia Flyers
Dan Vladař (29-14-7, 2.42GAA, 90.6%SV) will start for the Flyers. Vladař never started in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. He’s most prone to allowing goals above the blocker, above the glove, and glove level, but seals off the bottom half of the net and the body relatively well.
Matvei Michkov (20G, 31A) will make his NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. This is bigger than hockey for Michkov. His father, Andrei Michkov, went missing on April 2nd, 2023, and was found dead in a pond near Sochi. Andrei pushed Matvei, guiding him toward the NHL. Tonight, Michkov embarks on his NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs journey.
Nick Seeler (4G, 6A, +1) has five NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs games under his belt. In the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Minnesota Wild, Seeler notched two assists when the Wild were eliminated by the Winnipeg Jets in five games. Seeler almost called it a career before he ended up in Philadelphia, taking all of 2020-2021 off after being placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019-2020. Chuck Fletcher, say what you will, brought Seeler aboard the Flyers when he was the General Manager; a call back to when Fletcher was the General Manager in Minnesota.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Stuart Skinner (23-17-9, 2.92GAA, 88.8%SV) will start for the Penguins. Skinner started 50 games in his NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs career with the Edmonton Oilers, with a 26-22 record. He’s susceptible to pucks above and below the glove. Dan Muse wasn’t an easy nut to crack regarding his goaltending decision; however, he committed to Skinner this morning.
Ben Kindel (17G, 18A, -5) will make his NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in his true rookie season. When facing Philadelphia in 2025-2026, Kindel tallied one assist on the power play when Justin Brazeau (17G, 17A, +5) scored in a 6-3 win versus the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena.
Erik Karlsson (15G, 51A, +8) has the most NHL Stanley Cup Playoff experience of the players covered in this preview. In a total of 67 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games, mostly with the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks, Karlsson tallied 53 points (8G, 45A). Just like Kindel, Brazeau, and Skinner, this will be the first time Karlsson laces his skates for Pittsburgh in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster – Trevor Zegras – Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny – Christian Dvorak – Porter Martone
Denver Barkey – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier – Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Emil Andrae
Dan Vladař
(Samuel Ersson)
Projected Lineup: Pittsburgh Penguins
Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak – Rickard Rakell – Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Söderblom – Ben Kindel – Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson
Samuel Girard – Kris Letang
Ryan Shea – Connor Clifton
Stuart Skinner
(Artūrs Šilovs)
