Press whatever marketable slogan you want on the shirts draped over the seats at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. Since Game 3, the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2) lacked a certain level of intensity. ‘Scumbag Hockey’ is paying dividends for the Pittsburgh Penguins (2-3). That’s a marketing term some reserved for the Flyers. In Game 4 and Game 5, it’s exclusive to the Penguins.
On home ice, Philadelphia has another chance to advance past the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Game 6 is immensely critical. Rick Tocchet must make the right lineup adjustments to increase the likelihood of a victory. The last thing the Flyers need is a potential Game 7 in Pittsburgh.
Matvei Michkov will return to the lineup, which means Garnet Hathaway will exit. Dan Vladař, who wasn’t as sharp in Game 4 and Game 5, needs to lock in. Philadelphia is walking a thin line, asked to lead the physicality while battling sloppy officiating as of late.
“I don’t think it’s just been them two [Noah Cates, Matvei Michkov]. Our forecheck has been just okay the last couple [of] games. You can group them in our team play, better on the forecheck; faster [at] getting in on them [the Pittsburgh Penguins], more chaos disruption, we’re chasing behind the net a lot. You got Karlsson [Erik Karlsson], Letang [Kris Letang], [and] Girard [Samuel Girard], they can wheel the net really well. We’re chasing. We’re losing that.” – Rick Tocchet; 4/29/2026
Peter Laviolette called it ‘playing with jam.’ The Flyers need to set the tone immediately and often.
“Starts are always important. They’re saying the same thing. Starts are as much of a team thing [as] an individual thing. You know [in] your first couple of shifts, what you’re trying to do, and what you have to do to participate in whatever that play is. That’s what it really comes down to: the mental focus.” – Rick Tocchet; 4/29/2026
In Game 6, it’s time to trap the Penguins under the ice in Philadelphia.
Tale of the Tape
- Power Play: 17.6% (8th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Power Play: 13.3% (10th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Penalty Kill: 86.7% (6th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Penalty Kill: 82.4% (9th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Faceoff: 53.5% (4th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Faceoff: 46.5% (13th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Goals For/Games Played: 3 (8th) Philadelphia Flyers
- Goals For/Games Played: 2.2 (13th) Pittsburgh Penguins
- Goals Against/Games Played: 2.2 (3rd) Philadelphia Flyers
- Goals Against/Games Played: 3 (9th) Pittsburgh Penguins
Injury Report: Pittsburgh Penguins
Injury Report: Philadelphia Flyers
When: 7:30pm/ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
Watch: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Series: 3-2, Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Artūrs Šilovs (2-0, 92%SV, 2GAA) will start for Pittsburgh. He’s been the missing ingredient for the Penguins. Stringing together two consecutive wins in this series, he’s keeping playoff hopes alive.
Egor Chinakhov (-4, 6SOG, 13:57ATOI) is having a rough time in his first NHL Playoffs. There’s a lot of correlation between him and Michkov. Chinakhov hasn’t adapted smoothly to the harder, faster pace of the NHL Playoffs. He’ll find himself in the top six of the lineup. To date, he’s received the time on the ice, but the production hasn’t arrived.
“Every player’s going to be different. Are we getting into areas we want him [Egor Chinakhov] to get into that he wants to get into? There has been some of that. He’s still working to find those spots even more. It’s not like he hasn’t had any looks or any chances. This is a team [the Philadelphia Flyers] that makes things difficult. They have numbers back, and so, as I said early on in the series, too, this is his first playoff experience. What I’m looking for is steps, and I think he’s working to take those steps.” – Dan Muse; 4/29/2026
Kris Letang (2G, -2, 18PIM, 9SOG, 22:26ATOI, 4BLK, 7HIT, 5GV) got away with a game-winning goal in Game 5. He pulled the helmet off of Luke Glendening, and Jon McIssac swallowed his whistle. That’s a textbook penalty, and since McIssac can’t do his job, it resulted in one of the flukiest game-winning goals. McIssac is not officiating tonight’s game, which might make this a more tightly called contest.
Philadelphia Flyers
Vladař (3-2, 91.4%SV, 2.03GAA) is the likely starter for the Flyers. This will be his sixth start in a row. It would behoove Philadelphia to win Game 6, not just because they’ll advance past the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, but also because Vladař needs a rest. Anthony Mantha and Bryan Rust found a way to make contact with Vladař in this series. Still, Tocchet elected to keep icing Vladař, never playing Samuel Ersson in a spot start.
Trevor Zegras (1G, 3A, 10PIM, 6SOG, 16:32ATOI) must win faceoffs. The Flyers may be winning the bulk of faceoffs throughout the series, but lately, they’re not winning critical draws to avoid being hemmed in the defensive zone. Zegras needs to rebound in Game 6. In Game 5, he won 14.3% of his faceoff draws.
Travis Sanheim (2G, 1A, +5, 6PIM, 5SOG, 25:00ATOI, 10BLK, 3HIT, 2TK, 8GV) tied the game, 2-2, in Game 5 with a timely goal, deflecting off Erik Karlsson. He understands the shooting areas and ways to join the attack to beat Šilovs, which is huge. In Game 4, he hit the crossbar, so there’s definite space for Sanheim in the offensive zone.
“We did a couple of things too much. Our third forward [F3] got in too tight because the puck bounced out a few times where if we’re in a spot, [we] probably could’ve had two empty-nets that way. We got to be careful we’re not too crazy of getting in on front. Like any goalie, Arty’s [Artūrs Šilovs] no different than anybody. You want to get people in front of him and take his eyes away. That’s the number one thing coaches in the playoffs want, and those are the most goals scored in the playoffs; anything around that crease. That’s determination to get there.” – Rick Tocchet; 4/29/2026
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)
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
Denver Barkey – Trevor Zegras – Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny – Christian Dvorak – Porter Martone
Alex Bump – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier – Tyson Foerster
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladař
(Samuel Ersson)
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