{"id":488614,"date":"2026-04-18T07:57:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T11:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=488614"},"modified":"2026-04-17T23:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T03:15:36","slug":"philadelphia-flyers-pittsburgh-penguins-2026-stanley-cup-playoff-series-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/04\/18\/philadelphia-flyers-pittsburgh-penguins-2026-stanley-cup-playoff-series-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins First-Round 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff Series Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

This series preview features the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers as they clash for the eighth time in their respective post-season histories. A storied cross-state rivalry, this latest instalment is sure to be as explosive as the previous ones have been. Will the returns of Sidney Crosby<\/a>, Evgeni Malkin<\/a>, and Kris Letang<\/a> to the Stanley Cup Playoffs boost the Penguins past Philadelphia? Or will the emergence of the youth, Matvei Michkov<\/a>, Porter Martone<\/a> and Jamie Drysdale<\/a> lift the Flyers past Pittsburgh? Find out with our analysis here on Last Word On Hockey<\/em> as we try to decide who will take the seven-game series between two teams no one expected to be at the dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2026 Stanley Cup Playoff First-Round Preview Penguins and Flyers<\/h2>\n

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Credit Image: \u00a9 Kostas Lymperopoulos\/Cal Sport Media<\/span><\/p>\n

The two teams had an interesting season series, to say the least. The games were split with two wins each, but Philly did it in shootout both times. Conversely, Pittsburgh won both their in regulation. Both teams took advantage of the bonus point getting them into the playoffs. Pittsburgh at 16-extra points from losing after regulation, while Philly had 12.<\/p>\n

This series seems to come down to the idea of high skill and offence versus tight-checking and defence. The Pittsburgh Penguins were third in goals for with 290, while Philadelphia was 21st with 240. Pittsburgh’s power play ranked seventh, while the Flyers were 32nd. Special teams as a whole are in Pittsburgh’s favour, their 6th-ranked kill beating out the Flyers\u2019 22nd-ranked kill. However, Philadelphia gets the edge in pure defensive metrics, allowing the ninth fewest goals against compared to Pittsburgh’s 24th. Goaltending is a similar story. Where Philadelphia\u2019s starter boasts a .905, the Penguins’ options aren\u2019t as good. Stuart Skinner<\/a>, the likely starter, is 12-9-5 with an .885 save percentage. Meanwhile, backup Arturs Silovs<\/a> is 19-12-8 with an .888 save percentage. This series will come down to a battle of explosive offence and stout defence.<\/p>\n

2026 Pittsburgh Penguins First Round Preview and their Keys to Victory<\/span><\/h3>\n

It has been a roller coaster of a season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marred by injuries, the Penguins’ depth has played to a level that they\u2019ve struggled to reach in recent years. While the top unit of Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust<\/a> and Rickard Rakell<\/a> has been as stellar as they always are, the rest of the team stepped up and propelled the Penguins into a playoff spot for the first time in three years. Star forward Evgeni Malkin has had a resurgent season, with 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games. The team’s top defenceman, Erik Karlsson<\/a>, has also clicked in with the system. Through 75 games, he scored 15 goals and 66 points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch for the rest of the team as well. Past the big guns, Pittsburgh has found production from all across the lineup. Free agent pickup Anthony Mantha<\/a> has bolstered the top six with a 33-goal, 64-point season. General manager Kyle Dubas supplemented a good offensive group with a golden pickup<\/a> midseason in Egor Chinakhov<\/a>. The Russian forward has produced at a career-high rate with 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games in a Penguins uniform. The bottom six have been filled with defensively minded forwards capable of pitching in offence. Trade pickup<\/a> Elmer Soderblom<\/a>, along with Blake Lizotte<\/a>, Connor Dewar<\/a> and Noel Acciari<\/a>, will be a group that gives the Flyers team a lot of trouble throughout the series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Philadelphia Flyers Keys to Victory<\/h3>\n

Although these two teams ended this season with the same number of points, the way they got there was very different. Whereas the Penguins stood in their spot, second in the Metropolitan Division, for much of the season, Philadelphia spent a ton of time outside of the playoff line. They got hot at the right time and took advantage of a group of teams, all of whom were unable to amass points when needed. The Flyers went 18-7-1 after the Olympic Break, a record that propelled them to the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. This comes off the back of stellar goaltending by career journeyman Dan Vladar. Typically a backup, Vladar has gone 29-14-7 with a .906 this season as the team’s starting goaltender.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Past Vladar, the Philadelphia Flyers have gotten production out of other unlikely sources. Trade acquisition Trevor Zegras<\/a> came over from the Anaheim Ducks and quickly proved why he was a blue-chip prospect a few short years ago. Through 81 games, the centre scored 26 goals and 67 points in his inaugural season with the Flyers. The youth has also injected life into the team. Matvei Michkov, coming off a slow start to the season, settled up with 20 goals and 51 points in 81 games. Noah Cates<\/a>, meanwhile, established himself as a valuable piece of the team with 18 goals and 47 points while appearing in every game for the team this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who is Likely to Win This Instalment of the Battle of Pennsylvania?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Now, to predict the winner of this series. Popular sports betting sites seem to widely agree that the Pittsburgh Penguins have the edge in this series, with odds ranging from -160 to -170 for their potential win. Many analysts have agreed with this, giving the Penguins an edge in the series. We here at Last Word on Sports would agree, as the Pittsburgh Penguins seem to be the better team overall. The Philadelphia Flyers have the better and more consistent goaltending. However, there\u2019s something to be said about Stuart Skinner, a goalie used to being part of a tandem that\u2019s made it to two-straight Stanley Cup Finals. Although the Flyers have an edge defensively, the Penguins’ offence is explosive and far better than Philadelphia\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Penguins also boast a ton of experience, with three-time Cup champions Crosby, Malkin and Letang leading the charge. Veterans like Erik Karlsson, Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari will be hungry to compete and win as well. While the Flyers have the younger, fresher legs, Pittsburgh holds much of the winning experience. If the Penguins are able to shore up their defence and protect Skinner or Silovs in net, the organization has a great opportunity to make it to round two in their first playoff appearance in years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction: Penguins win the series 4-2\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly. Check your local rules and age restrictions. Some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Have a gambling problem? Call <\/i><\/b>1-800-GAMBLER<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This series preview features the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers as they clash for the eighth time in their respective post-season histories. A storied cross-state rivalry, this latest instalment is sure to be as explosive as the previous ones have been. Will the returns of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang to the Stanley […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5231,"featured_media":463077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4547,4548,16,4524],"tags":[8285,6082,6123],"class_list":["post-488614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-penguins","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-flyers","category-nhl-predictions","tag-2026-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-philadelphia-flyers-predictions","tag-pittsburgh-penguins-predictions"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488614"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":488641,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488614\/revisions\/488641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}