Game 4 was heartbreaking for the Philadelphia Flyers (3-1). They had a chance to sweep the Pittsburgh Penguins (1-3), but the Penguins walked out of the Xfinity Mobile Arena, dragging the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals back to the PPG Paints Arena.
Dan Muse shook up his lineup to keep Pittsburgh alive. Between the pipes, Stuart Skinner was replaced by Artūrs Šilovs. Muse also reinserted Elmer Söderblom into his lineup after missing Game 3. Söderblom tied Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby for the team lead in shots on goal in the Game 4 triumph against the Flyers.
Rick Tocchet adjusted his lineup. Matvei Michkov hasn’t been able to find the gas pedal in the postseason. Alex Bump will make his postseason debut. This should be considered a reset for Michkov. There’s a high likelihood that he’ll return to the lineup following Game 5.
The fanbase hasn’t exactly reacted rationally to the news. Michkov needs a reset. He hasn’t produced any points in this series, he hasn’t kept up with the postseason hockey pace in terms of checking, and he isn’t playing well enough overall to earn more minutes.
Tocchet is hoping to provide a spark, and if Philadelphia can eliminate the Penguins, the Flyers have a clean slate in the NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“There’s a lot of different messaging. Sometimes, we overlook things. To me, today’s game, and I’m sure their coach [Dan Muse] [feels the] same; it’s not a system thing. We all know what they’re going to do and what we’re going to do. There might be the odd tweak once in a while. To me, it’s the guy next to you [that] you’re battling against. Can you beat him to the puck? Can you win a puck battle? Can you make that play? Can you make that good defensive play? Can you block a shot? It’s all the little small things they’re going to do, and we’re going to do. That’s really what you’re looking for, and the moments when you add all of those up together. That’s really what it comes down to.” – Rick Tocchet; 4/27/2026
Tale of the Tape
- Power Play: 20% (6th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Power Play: 15.4% (11th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Penalty Kill: 84.6% (5th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Penalty Kill: 80% (10th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Faceoff: 53.5% (4th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Faceoff: 46.5% (13th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Goals For/Games Played: 3.25 (5th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Goals For/Games Played: 2 (14th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Goals Against/Games Played: 2 (3rd) Philadelphia Flyers
- Goals Against/Games Played: 3.25 (11th) Pittsburgh Penguins
Injury Report: Philadelphia Flyers
Injury Report: Pittsburgh Penguins
When: 7pm/ET
Where: PPG Paints Arena; Pittsburgh, PA
Watch: ESPN, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Series: 3-1, Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
Dan Vladař (3-1, 92.6%SV, 1.76GAA) is the probable starting goaltender for Philadelphia. He’s been insanely dialed in during the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals; however, he did have a bad flub in Game 4 that proved costly. Puck protection is a top priority throughout the Flyers’ lineup, working all the way back to the crease where Vladař resides.
“He’s [Vladař] got a lot of confidence in the team [Philadelphia Flyers]. He obviously has confidence in himself, but he’s got a lot of confidence in the team, which is nice to see.” – Rick Tocchet; 4/27/2026
Travis Konecny (1G, 2A, +1, 5SOG, 16:49ATOI) scored on Šilovs in Game 4. His one-timer, set up by Christian Dvorak (3A, +1, 7SOG, 17:30ATOI), was a laser that went bar-down. Sniping corners could be a requirement; however, looking for too fine a shot isn’t the best method to solve Šilovs. It’s not rocket science. Philadelphia must create space to get into the high-danger areas, which paid off for Konecny and Denver Barkey (1G, 1A, +1, 3SOG, 9:50ATOI).
Rasmus Ristolainen (1G, 2A, +3, 9SOG, 25:08ATOI, 3BLK, 8HIT, 1TK, 6GV) and Jamie Drysdale (1G, 2A, -1, 9SOG, 19:44ATOI, 7BLK, 3HIT, 5GV) led the Flyers in shots on goal during Game 4. The defensemen have scored often enough against Pittsburgh, and generating traffic in high-danger areas for the defensemen might crack the code against Šilovs.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Šilovs (1-0, 93.3%SV, 2GAA) will be the starting goaltender for the Penguins. Replacing Skinner (0-3, 87.3%SV, 3.08GAA) with Šilovs gave Pittsburgh new life. If I’m being honest, Šilovs probably should’ve opposed Philadelphia the entire time because he was the better of the two options during the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season.
Söderblom (-1, 7SOG, 9:04ATOI) was a healthy scratch in Game 3. In Game 4, he was tied for the team lead in shots on goal. The reset proved valuable in the finer details, even if he’s yet to produce a point in the postseason. Bump is expected to match up against Söderblom on the third line. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the fourth line sees more action due to the tight-checking nature of postseason hockey.
Samuel Girard (-1, 4SOG, 17:54ATOI, 3BLK, 5HIT, 4TK, 4GV) isn’t known for his offense like Erik Karlsson (1G, 2A, -3, 7SOG, 27:15ATOI, 3BLK, 1HIT, 1TK, 8GV), yet he’s been a stable defender. Where the Flyers must buckle down on puck protection, Girard will be on the hunt with an active stick to force takeaways.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
Denver Barkey – Trevor Zegras – Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny – Christian Dvorak – Porter Martone
Alex Bump – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster
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
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Söderblom – Ben Kindel – Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson
Samuel Girard – Kris Letang
Ryan Shea – Ilya Solovyov
Artūrs Šilovs
(Stuart Skinner)
