{"id":490155,"date":"2026-04-29T07:47:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=490155"},"modified":"2026-04-29T04:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T08:37:21","slug":"nhl-predictions-round-1-game-6-2026-stanley-cup-playoffs-philadelphia-flyers-pittsburgh-penguins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/04\/29\/nhl-predictions-round-1-game-6-2026-stanley-cup-playoffs-philadelphia-flyers-pittsburgh-penguins\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Round 1, Game 6, 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Penguins head back to Philadelphia to try and force Game Seven. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here with Last Word On Hockey<\/em>. Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for games around the NHL. In tonight\u2019s matchup, the Philadelphia Flyers try to evade a terrifying Game Seven against their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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NHL Predictions featuring the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
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Regular Season Head-to-Head:<\/strong>\u00a0Flyers 2-2 Penguins<\/p>\n

Playoff Series:<\/strong> Flyers 3-2 Penguins<\/p>\n

How to W<\/strong><\/a>atch:<\/strong><\/a> Sportsnet+, TVAS+, TVAS, SN360, HBO MAX, TNT, truTV, NBCSP, SN-PIT<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Puck Drop:<\/strong> 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)<\/p>\n

Penguins Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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A far better return to form in Game Five propelled the Penguins to a crucial 3-2 win<\/a>. While the win in Game Four was good to salvage the series rather than being swept, Game Five is truly the one that\u2019s given the Penguins some confidence while giving the Flyers some doubt. A far more aggressive defensive approach, with an emphasis on blocked shots and getting in lanes, insulated goaltender Arturs Silovs<\/a>. Meanwhile, the offence came up big when it needed to and was just enough to get Pittsburgh the victory.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Credit Image: \u00a9 Jordan Teller\/ISIPhotos via ZUMA Press Wire<\/span><\/p>\n

First-period dominance, which has been a theme in this series, continued in Game Five. The Penguins were once again the only team to score in the first, including a goal from trade deadline pick-up<\/a> Elmer Soderblom<\/a>. In the second, it was a fantastic shot from Connor Dewar that increased the lead to two. This lead would be blown with just about five minutes left in the period. However, franchise star Kris Letang<\/a> saw his shot take a lucky bounce and into the back of Philadelphia’s net. Stout defence, alongside missed shots, meant that the Penguins shut the door in the third and got the win. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With Silovs making 18 saves on 20 shots, he\u2019s posted a cumulative .920 save percentage over his two starts. While it is very likely\u00a0that he stays in net for Game Six, it\u2019s always a good idea to check official lineups before placing any bets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Flyers Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Bored, disinterested, and complacent are some of the best ways to describe the Flyers’ play over the previous two games. Gone is the tight defensive structure the team employed earlier in the series, and instead, the Flyers seem to be hoping far more that goaltender Dan Vladar can steal the show. Even making a change in the lineup, scratching struggling forward Matvei Michkov<\/a> in exchange for rookie Alex Bump, couldn\u2019t get the spark the team needed. In Game Six, the game plan for Philadelphia is simply to return to the way they were playing over the first three games of the series. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Although the team as a whole wasn\u2019t sparked by Michkov\u2019s scratching, the player who took his place took the opportunity. Alex Bump scored a critical goal, his first in an NHL playoff game, just 12 seconds after Pittsburgh made it 2-0. This destroyed the mounting momentum the Penguins were building. Defenceman Travis Sanheim<\/a> would then come up big again, scoring his second goal of the series late in the period to tie things up. However, this was all she wrote<\/em> for the Flyers. While multiple players got chances, none found their way to the back of the net. Some of the team’s most critical forwards have gone quiet. After a torrid pace to start his career, rookie Porter Martone<\/a> has failed to show up on the score sheet in back-to-back games.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In net, Dan Vladar has begun to look a little shaky as of late. After allowing three in Game Four, Vladar did so again in Game Five. While Letang\u2019s game winner is hard to blame on the netminder, or anyone really, Vladar has simply been outdueled the last two games by Arturs Silovs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prediction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As great as the momentum the Penguins are carrying is, it\u2019s very unlikely to last. Playing a game at home in Philadelphia is a massive boost for the Flyers. Expect head coach Rick Tocchet to light a fire under his team and get them playing aggressively from the first whistle. Using the home crowd as their spark, look for the Flyers to close out the series in this one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction: Flyers win Game Six 5-3<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bet of the Night<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Expecting a high-scoring Game Six, a popular prop bet of goals over seven with odds of +235 is a good one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.NHL Predictions: Round 1, Game 4, 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Penguins head back to Philadelphia to try and force Game Seven. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here with Last Word On Hockey. Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for games around the NHL. In tonight\u2019s matchup, the Philadelphia Flyers try to evade a terrifying Game Seven against their cross-state rivals, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5231,"featured_media":463236,"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":[4547,4548,16,12,4524],"tags":[8285,6082,6123],"class_list":["post-490155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-flyers","category-penguins","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\/490155","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=490155"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":490169,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490155\/revisions\/490169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}