The Philadelphia Flyers (3-1) had the Pittsburgh Penguins (1-3) in a position to be swept at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Before the puck dropped, Dan Muse made a change to his lineup. It proved critical. He started Artūrs Šilovs, officially replacing Stuart Skinner. Šilovs was the better goaltender of the two options throughout the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season.
In a position to advance past the Penguins, the Flyers needed to find a way to solve Šilovs. Philadelphia didn’t match the quality of play they showed in the first three games of the series. On the ice, they looked a step behind Pittsburgh in terms of speed. Šilovs saved 28/30 (93.3%SV) shots on goal. Dan Vladař stopped 17/20 (85%SV) shots on goal.
Penalties, puck protection, checking, and overall physicality did not favor the Flyers. Postseason hockey is an entirely different beast from regular-season hockey. For the first time in this series, the Penguins were all over Philadelphia like hogs in mud.
Game 5 is now a requirement. Here’s how Game 4 went down at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
First Period
Shots on Goal: 9-5, Philadelphia Flyers
Score: 1-0, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh pushed the pace early in the first period. Elmer Söderblom and Ben Kindel put a couple of shots on goal against Vladař. Halfway through the first period, Anthony Mantha added another shot on goal. It should be noted that the first shot on goal for the Flyers was from Jamie Drysdale.
Mantha served a minor penalty for holding. Philadelphia did not register a shot on goal on its first power play attempt. On the night, the Flyers finished 0/3 (0%) on the power play.
Denver Barkey served a minor penalty for high-sticking. Sidney Crosby scored on the power play, 1-0, with 5:36 remaining in the first period. He won the faceoff against Luke Glendening, then accepted a forward pass from Erik Karlsson before slapping the puck through Vladař’s glove. Vladař got most of the puck, but not enough. Philadelphia finished 1/3 (33.3%) on the penalty kill.
For a moment, it seemed as if Šilovs may have covered the puck inside the net on a shot from the post by Trevor Zegras. It was a clean save, keeping the Flyers off the scoreboard. Vladař found his groove, denying another scoring chance from Crosby with a pad. The first period finished with Philadelphia on their second power play as Blake Lizotte served a minor penalty for cross-checking.
Second Period
Shots on Goal: 19-14, Philadelphia Flyers
Score: 2-1, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vladař made a costly mistake to begin the second period. He played the puck behind the net, and Rickard Rakell recovered the turnover, then fished the puck into the net, 2-0, with 18:57 remaining in the second period. The Flyers gave the Penguins a helping hand in Game 4 because of mistakes like this.
Philadelphia had a few good scoring chances midway through the second period. Glendening, Porter Martone, and Garnet Hathaway each tested Šilovs, but couldn’t yet crack the armor.
Tyson Foerster had a small, shorthanded breakaway. He tried to beat Šilovs under the pad, but the attempt was denied. Noah Cates led Foerster into the scoring chance. Šilovs took away a lot of shooting space when he stepped toward the top of the crease.
Barkey, who earlier served a minor penalty that allowed Pittsburgh to score on the power play, made up for it. He tipped the puck past Šilovs, 2-1, with 4:20 remaining in the second period. He got under the hash marks, into the high-danger scoring areas, which is the requirement for scoring on Šilovs.
Third Period
Shots on Goal: 30-21, Philadelphia Flyers
Score: 4-2, Pittsburgh Penguins
Battles along the wall in the defensive zone are critical. Crosby came away with the puck, then dished to Kris Letang along the blue line. Letang sank a slap shot from the point, 3-1, with 15:33 remaining in the third period. This goal stood as the game-winner.
Travis Konecny answered. Travis Sanheim brought the puck into the corner of the offensive zone, then Christian Dvorak set Konecny up with the one-timer, 3-2, with 12:57 remaining in the third period. In this moment, the Flyers were still in the hunt.
Rick Tocchet pulled Vladař late in the third period. Philadelphia had the six-on-five advantage in an attempt to tie the game.
Connor Dewar scored the empty-net goal, 4-2, with 0:55 remaining in the third period.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 5 of the 2026 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The puck drops at 7pm/ET on Monday.
