The Philadelphia Flyers face the host Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night in prime time for Game 1, before a national television audience. Nobody knows the outcome. Will the Penguins overpower and steamroll the Flyers in the opening 10 minutes? Or will Philadelphia\u2019s youthful forwards surgically pick apart the Penguins in the neutral zone and make their lives a lot harder than they (most experts) anticipate?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the first time a younger group of Flyers faced an experienced Penguins club to open a playoff series. One only has to look back to the last time the two teams faced off against each other in Game 1. The date was April 11, 2018 (exactly eight years and one week ago Saturday). At the time the Flyers had another pile of youngsters ready for playoff hockey. Up front they had Sean Couturier (25 years old), Travis Konecny (21), Nolan Patrick (19), Scott Laughton (23), and Oskar Lindblom (21) eager to get going and contribute. Meanwhile, on the backend, the Flyers had Ivan Provorov (21), Shayne Gostisbehere (24), and Travis Sanheim (22) hoping to withstand the pressure of playing the then two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.<\/p>\n
The Flyers tried to survive the onslaught before a loud Pittsburgh crowd, but just over two minutes in, the dams broke and things went downhill fast. Bryan Rust made it 1-0 and, just over the halfway through the period, Carl Hagelin beat Brian Elliott to make it 2-0. Philadelphia had a chance to get back in the game on a power play a minute later, but they couldn\u2019t score. Evgeni Malkin, called for hooking, stepped out of the box and 12 seconds later put Pittsburgh up 3-0. To say the Flyers, or at least the youngsters mentioned above, looked like deer in the headlights, would be a gross understatement. Whether they were in awe of the talent Pittsburgh had, or just couldn\u2019t hit the gear that the Penguins had from the opening faceoff, they got pummeled. A tape-to-tape pass was considered a victory at some points during the contest.<\/p>\n
By the end of the night, the Penguins scored a touchdown against the tandem of Elliott and Petr Mrazek. To add insult to injury, Sidney Crosby scored the final three goals, ending the night with a hat trick and a +5 on the plus\/minus scale. Rust, Malkin, and Crosby had five of the seven goals scored in Game 1. It was a huge wake-up call for the Flyers. On the other side of the coin, both Lindblom and Sanheim, incredibly, were 0 when it came to plus\/minus. Couturier and Gostisbehere were both -4 and both played over 20 minutes. Provorov was a -2 and played just over 23 minutes. Nothing good happened that night. However, it did provide a great learning lesson for the Flyers.<\/p>\n
2018 provides a good lesson for the 2026 Flyers<\/p>\n
After losing Game 1 in such humiliating fashion, the team could\u2019ve rolled over. A much closer defeat in Game 2 would\u2019ve satisfied a lot of fans, hoping Philadelphia could regroup and possibly not get swept at home. However, the Flyers picked themselves up off the ground, dusted themselves off, and trounced Pittsburgh the following game 5-1. Gostisbehere scored late in the first, and Couturier (who played a ridiculous 27:15) put Philadelphia ahead 2-0 early in the second. An early third period goal from Konecny made it 3-0 and it was basically over after that. Of course, the series went six games, with the Penguins defeating the Flyers in a wild 8-5 elimination game that saw Couturier (who scored a hat trick) playing on one leg after Radko Gudas injured him accidentally in a practice days prior. But the young, inexperienced Flyers showed resilience and bounced back to make it a series. Against a two-time defending Cup champion.<\/p>\n
A lot has changed in that time, but the Flyers are once again entering a series with a lineup that is young, generally vastly inexperienced, but ready for battle. Matvei Michkov looks like an old pro now compared to Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, and Porter Martone. That quartet probably look at Tyson Foerster as a veteran. And those five aforementioned players probably consider Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale to be old, grizzled journeymen playing for two National Hockey League teams. Yet all of them are 25 or under, and are going to be vital to Philadelphia\u2019s success this series and in the future. Just as important, the Penguins, eight years later, are still hoping Crosby, Malkin, and Rust (as well as a supporting cast that includes a slew of 30-somethings) resurrect past glories against their rivals. But the Pens are facing a much different team in 2026, one that is younger, seemingly more talented, and with a defensive structure that doesn\u2019t give up a lot. To say nothing about Dan Vladar.<\/p>\n
However, if everything falls apart in Game 1 for Philadelphia, and the Penguins are able to get the upper hand in a rout, it\u2019s not the end of the world. They will have experienced playoff hockey and will get a taste of what\u2019s to come. Like head coach Rick Tocchet has preached from day one, the mentality for the club this season is a game at a time, a period at a time, a shift at a time. Should the Flyers play well and lose, it proves they can hang with the Penguins (who are going to need a lot of gas from players extremely long in the tooth). If they win, that\u2019s great, but the team should wake up Sunday morning getting ready for Game 2, not reliving a victory.<\/p>\n
Too young to be nervous?<\/p>\n
For Michkov, Foerster, Zegras, Martone, Bump, and Barkey, they are probably welcoming the opportunity to play at this time of year and cause havoc for Pittsburgh\u2019s Stuart Skinner or Arturs Silovs. Or needle the Penguins\u2019 stars to the point of insanity. Playing for the Stanley Cup is the dream, and the Flyers will be in the dance for the first time in six years. Again, nobody is expecting 16 wins from this club this playoff season, but nobody expected them to be here now. <\/p>\n
While there\u2019s no real pressure on the Flyers, there seems to be a bit more for the Penguins. After all, Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson aren\u2019t getting any younger. Crosby was a few weeks into his second season when Porter Martone was born! And while they were great players (or are in Crosby\u2019s and Malkin\u2019s case), age catches up with everyone. Penguins\u2019 general manager Kyle Dubas has done a decent job fitting pieces in to make Pittsburgh competitive, but the age of the club from top to bottom has to be concerning. Particularly against Flyer rookies who seem to be too raw to know what lies ahead. And only too eager to hit the ground running.<\/p>\n