The Flyers felt like they had a playoff mindset for the last month and a half of the regular season.

That urgency led to pressure-packed games and louder arenas, especially on home ice as the fan base saw the legitimacy of the Flyers’ playoff push.

For the team’s youngsters, it was great experience. But it probably doesn’t equate to what’s in store for the Flyers’ best-of-seven first-round matchup with the Penguins.

Philadelphia is a different animal when the postseason arrives. Sean Couturier knows that better than anyone on the roster.

“I’ve told them it’s wild,” the Flyers’ captain said Tuesday with a smile. “I think the last couple of weeks, we’ve felt the atmosphere in the building kind of take another level. But I keep kind of reminding them that it’s really nothing compared to playoffs in Philly.

“Everyone in orange, right in warmups, everyone’s there in their seats and ready to go and screaming, getting under the other team’s skin a little bit at times. It’s a lot fun, there’s a lot of passion in the building. I’m excited for our group.”

The Flyers snapped their five-year postseason drought with a concerted climb in the standings, a run that was capped off Monday night. Now they’re set to renew their rivalry with Pittsburgh starting Saturday night for Game 1.

Here are three thoughts on the series.

Experience vs. inexperience

The Penguins are rich with playoff pedigree. The Flyers, on the other hand, have 13 first-timers.

“I think I saw something today where they have, like, 1,027 playoff games and we have 100 or something like that,” Trevor Zegras said Thursday. “So it’s going to be a good challenge for us, the battle of Pennsylvania. I grew up watching these two teams go to war for years, so it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Sidney Crosby owns 180 games of postseason experience and three Stanley Cup titles. He’s one of five players on Pittsburgh’s roster that has won a Stanley Cup. When Crosby won his first, Porter Martone was 2 years old.

So the Penguins won’t be rattled by the magnitude of the moment. But they could feel a lot more on their shoulders. Their core is trying to capitalize on one more run. The Flyers don’t have much to lose. They’re very much playing with house money and a mentality of “us against the world.”

The Flyers, though, have to find a way to combat Crosby. There has been no bigger Flyers killer than No. 87. Travis Sanheim has seen Crosby up close as an opponent and as a teammate with Team Canada at the Olympics, 4 Nations Face-Off and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

“Have a ton of respect for him and what he has done throughout his career,” Sanheim said Thursday. “Yet if I respect him, I want to play him hard. I know that I’m going to have to be playing lots against him. I’m looking forward to the battle.”

Rick Tocchet knows Crosby well, too.

“You’ve got to go through him, you’ve got to be on top of him, you’ve got to make it a hard game for him, you’ve got to get in his way,” the Flyers’ head coach said Thursday. “Because if you’re not, you know what he can do.”

Tocchet was an assistant coach with the Penguins when they won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.

“We have a ton of respect for Sid, he’s an unbelievable person and player,” Tocchet said, “but we’ve got to get him in the ditches. We’ve got to make it hard on him.”

Keep the playing field even

A major key for the Flyers will be keeping the game at 5-on-5.

They did not have an effective regular season on special teams. They sported the 22nd-ranked penalty kill (77.6 percent) and the league’s worst power play (15.7 percent).

Since March 1, the Flyers were tied for the second-most power play goals allowed with 19. But in that span, they were excellent at 5-on-5, giving up a league-low 30 goals.

So it’s not just a hockey cliché. The Flyers need to stay out of the penalty box. Especially when you consider that Pittsburgh can really score. The Penguins put up the NHL’s third-most goals per game (3.54) and had the seventh-best power play (24.1 percent).

“They’ve got a ton of skill on that side, I’ve played with Sid a number of times,” Sanheim said. “We want to stay disciplined throughout the series and keep it at 5-on-5. I think we’ve done a nice job of that throughout the season and it’s something that we’re going to have to continue to do. It’s going to be super important in the series.”

The Flyers were not a high-end goal-scoring team during the regular season. Their offense dried up at times. But they were as stingy as anyone down the stretch. They went 18-6-1 over their final 25 games and surrendered just 2.36 goals per game.

Dan Vladar has shown he can carry a team in net. He has spoken highly of the Flyers’ locker room.

“When I signed, I had 15 guys reaching out to me the first day in free agency, which I was shocked about,” Vladar said Thursday. “That’s not common. Just those little things show how much the guys care for each other.”

Michkov has momentum

There’s no doubt Matvei Michkov is an X-factor for the Flyers. They went 11-0-0 in the regular season when the 21-year-old winger recorded a multi-point game.

He came on strong as the games got bigger. Over the Flyers’ last 16 games, Michkov led the team with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists). He also had a plus-11 rating in that span.

Michkov finished the regular season with 20 goals and 51 points. That was a real positive considering how everything went before the Olympic break in February.

Tocchet has seen a more comfortable Michkov — from his participation in team meetings to understanding the coaches and connecting with teammates.

“I’m going to be honest with you guys, earlier in the season, he wasn’t a loner, but he was kind of alone a lot,” Tocchet said. “Now he’s around with the young guys. I think it’s a huge development for Mich.

“He has actually stepped up his English, but he’s more involved. The other night, he was out to dinner with three rookie guys. I think that’s huge, for his development, too.”