The Philadelphia Flyers can finish off the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night and advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020. They host Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first round at Xfinity Mobile Arena with a 3-0 lead and a chance to complete the first sweep in the long rivalry.
Philadelphia opened the series by outscoring Pittsburgh 11-4 over the first three games and followed with a 5-2 win in Game 3 on Wednesday. That result put the Flyers within one victory of their first playoff series win since they beat the Montreal Canadiens in six games in the 2020 Eastern Conference first round, and their first sweep of a best-of-seven series since the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Rangers.
The last step comes with one major question in net. Dan Vladar will start for the Flyers after appearing to injure his right arm in a collision with Bryan Rust late in Game 3. He did not skate on Thursday or Friday, but Philadelphia is moving ahead with him in goal as it tries to close out a series that has tilted sharply its way.
The Penguins need a win to send the matchup back to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Monday, and they would avoid being swept for the first time since the 2019 Eastern Conference first round against the New York Islanders if they can extend it. Rookie Arturs Silovs will start in goal for Pittsburgh, a choice made after the team lost its first three games and now faces the kind of margin that leaves no room for a slow start.
“You just got to stay mentally in this game,” coach Rick Tocchet said. He added that players cannot get caught up in tomorrow or the what-ifs, because “tonight’s a desperate game for us because we know they’re going to be desperate, and that’s the way you’ve got to look at it from game to game.”
On the other side, Travis Sanheim said Philadelphia has to treat it as if the series were even and approach it as “just another game,” while recognizing that Pittsburgh will push hard. That is the balance the Flyers are trying to maintain: one more clean night, one more finish, and the first sweep by either team in eight playoff series between the Pennsylvania rivals.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is chasing something much larger than a single win. It would need four straight after starting the series at home to become only the second team in NHL history to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, a club that still includes only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. For the Flyers, the assignment is simpler. Protect the lead, take the game in front of them, and end the series before it turns back.