Author: NHL Hockey News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The Philadelphia Flyers picked up a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the first round. With this, the Flyers now have a 1-0 lead in the series, which is certainly good news for the Metropolitan Division club. 

Porter Martone played a role in the Flyers' win, as he scored a big insurance goal at the 17:23 mark of the third period that gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead over the Penguins. It was a nice goal from the Flyers' top prospect, too, as he showed great patience with the puck before beating Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner top shelf with an excellent wrist shot. 

With this goal, Martone also made Flyers history. 

According to NHL Public Relations, Martone is now the youngest Flyers player in their franchise history to score in his playoff debut (19 years, 174 days old). Simon Gagne previously had the record, as he scored in his postseason debut in 2000 at 20 years and 44 days old. 

This stat just shows how much of an impact Martone is immediately making for the Flyers. The young winger is making it clear that he is not only ready for the NHL but can already be a big offensive contributor in the process. 

Porter Martone became the youngest @NHLFlyers player to score in his postseason debut, besting the previous benchmark established by Simon Gagne (20 years, 44 days) during Game 1 of 2000 Conference Quarterfinals. #StanleyCup#NHLStats: https://t.co/TrirK9vhfPpic.twitter.com/AzMVGoLDLU

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) April 19, 2026

Martone will now be looking to continue to shine with the Flyers as the postseason rolls on. In nine regular-season games for the Flyers to finish off the campaign, he had four goals and 10 points. 

Over the years, hardware store RONA has been a major advertising partner of the Montreal Canadiens, and it's stepped up its advertising in Quebec in recent years. The ad campaign “Mike Chez Rona” has been so successful that no one in the province can hear the Knacks’ song My Sharona without hearing the jingle in their head, and on March 26, a Mike Chez RONA bobblehead was even given as a promotional item at the Bell Center in

With the Canadiens making the playoffs for a second year in a row, RONA has decided to bring back its advertising campaign, “RONA on touche du bois” (RONA we touch wood). Last year, they brought a big stack of wood (which they sell, of course) and had fans touch it to bring luck to the Canadiens; this time around, though, they stepped up their game.

Double Dose Of Good News For The Canadiens
Former Canadiens Named To CHL Top 50 Players Of Last 50 Years
Canadiens St-Louis’ Thinks Xhekaj Has Shown Enough

This year, they’ve obtained Patrice Brisebois’ stick from the 1993 playoffs, and starting Friday, for the first home game of the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they’ll be in the vicinity of the Bell Centre to allow as many fans as possible to touch the bois glorieux, the glorious wood.

Appearing on TVA’s morning news show Salut Bonjour, a RONA representative explained that they’d be going around to surprise fan gatherings and allow them to touch Brisebois’ stick to bring luck to the team.

Given just how superstitious hockey fans are, that’s a campaign that’s sure to get people talking about RONA. That’s just one example of the craziness that takes over Montreal when the Canadiens are in the playoffs. Last week, former NHLer turned radio host Georges Laraque organized an event in which he had fans climb the stairs of the St-Joseph Oratory on their knees to bring good luck to the Habs. Back in 1993, when the Habs won their last Stanley Cup, coach Jacques Demers had made a pilgrimage to the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre Basilica during the series against the Quebec Nordiques, and the Habs had won their next two games against the Nordiques; the rest is history.

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Just the facts

• When: Tonight, 7:30 PM
• Where: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, NY
• How to follow: NESN, ESPN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
• Opposing perspective:Die by the Blade

Know your enemy

• Tage Thompson: 40G-41A-81PTS; Rasmus Dahlin: 19G-55A-74PTS; Alex Tuch: 33G-33A-66PTS
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: 22-9-3, 2.52 GAA, .910 save percentage

*Stats listed above are from the regular season

Game notes

• After what feels like a few weeks of waiting, the Bruins and Sabres will begin their first round series tonight in Buffalo. Compared to how long Sabres fans have been waiting for this day, however, three or four days will seem like the blink of an eye.
• This will be the first playoff game in Buffalo since April 24, 2011, a 5-4 OT loss to the Flyers in Game 6 of their first round series.
• With Alex Lyon still recovering from a late-season injury, the Bruins will see Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net for Buffalo tonight and likely for the majority of the series, unless he struggles. Lyon has returned to practice, so he could be a late-series option for Buffalo, if needed.
• The Bruins don’t appear to have any fresh injury concerns ahead of Game 1. Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt will be available after each of their partners had babies earlier this week.
• All signs point to James Hagens being in the lineup for Game 1, as others competing for his spot made up the fifth line at practice earlier this week. He looked fine in his NHL tune-up, but it’ll be interesting to see how he fares in playoff hockey (though you could say something similar about several of the Bruins young players).
• Jeremy Swayman will be the Bruins starter in net. While the playoffs are a different animal, Swayman is 8-1-1 in ten career games against Buffalo.
• Aside from Hagens’s status, which seems relatively set, one place where Marco Sturm will have decisions to make is on the blue line. Mason Lohrei has been up and down all season, while Jordan Harris and Henri Jokiharju had some good minutes in the last few games of the regular season.
• As this is an ESPN game and there might be some pomp and circumstance (understandably) from the home team, I wouldn’t be surprised if this game starts a bit after 7:30, so…plan accordingly.

See ya tonight!

New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov still has work to do before getting back to the NHL. But he took steps in the right direction this past week, playing in two rehab games down in Bridgeport. 

He went 2-0-0, making 18 saves on 20 shots in a 5-2 win back on Wednesday before turning aside 28 of 29 in a 2-1 win over the Hershey Bears on Saturday.

Varly stopped 28 of 29 tonight.

Through two rehab games: Stopped 46 of 49. #Isleshttps://t.co/PkTDXMxCpj

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) April 19, 2026

These were his first two games since Nov. 29, 2024, before he underwent knee procedures on both knees. 

Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said that Varlamov, who has one season left on his contract at $2.75 million, is a realistic backup option for Ilya Sorokin in 2026-27. 

If he keeps looking the way he's looked, Varlamov's dream to get back to the NHL after so much time away will become a reality. 

There was a fun nugget in Elliotte Friedman’s recent 32 Thoughts

The Penguins are one of the league’s great stories and they are fun to watch. One scout said Anthony Mantha may be the most-watched player by other teams in Round 1

Mantha had a career-best season, exploding for 33 goals and 64 points, while appearing in 81 games. That’s the legwork to get a big contract this summer but now teams will be watching to see what happens when the spotlight gets the brightest. That’s been a problem for Mantha traditionally, he hasn’t scored a goal in 14 NHL playoff games while adding six assists. Mantha also got relegated to being a healthy scratch the previous time he was in the playoffs with Vegas in 2024.

So even for a guy who has proved a lot this year, there’s always more work to do and people to impress.

That started in Game 1, Mantha was credited with five hits and amped up the physicality in a major way. However, he also took two offensive zone stick penalties and came up empty in a last second chance near the net that ended up as his only shot on goal for the game.

It’s a long series and teams out there will have a close eye on what impact Mantha is able to have for the Penguins during this playoff stretch. It might just determine how aggressive his market will be on July 1.

Here are all the other games!

Game 1: Los Angeles vs. Colorado

Whoever showed up from the second wildcard spot for the West was getting fed into a woodchipper. Through a series of misadventures, it happened to be the LA Kings.

If you are wondering which of the first round series could be a sweep, this is your best bet; LA absolutely sucks at even strength and has fewer goals than even Seattle, who famously does not have talent to score. The only way I could actively see Colorado losing a game, let alone this series, is if they suddenly experienced a mass injury event or fell into the Springfield Mystery Spot. The only other realistic possibility is that Colorado’s power play is bizarrely terrible given the caliber of player they usually ice, so maybe LA could find a way to get back into games through short-handed chances…if only their own special teams weren’t apocalyptically terrible.

I dunno man. This is going to be a very short series unless the Avs just don’t show.

Game 2: Meteor Series

Montreal vs. Tampa Bay is a series designed to kill me specifically.

On one hand, the Tampa Bay Lightning are a uniquely obnoxious team; they win all the goddamn time and still have the temerity to try and juice the refs for calls, both on the ice and off of it. Even their best players are total nutcases who sometimes fly off the handle and cause grevious injury to players just because he’s feeling especially petty. And they don’t need to do that. That just brings my piss to a boil. They’re good enough that they just Do Not need to do any of that and still do it. Either because they’re petty or they’ve found the exact formula to dupe NHL refs into doing their bidding.

And on the other hand…the f!#king Habs. A team that isn’t much better than Boston at getting shots off but has the entire hockey world so happy that they’re good again. They aren’t even all that good! They just have an ok defense and a garden gnome who can score! Anybody can do that!

Here’s my answer: go as long as humanly possible. Double OT every game. Any endorsement of a team I’d like to see come out of this is just an endorsement for the next team they play to drop them unceremoniously.

Game 3: Bruins vs. Sabres

If you’re on this website, you’re probably already gonna watch that.

Game 4: Utah vs. Vegas

I don’t like Vegas. I don’t think anyone outside Nevada likes Vegas. That isn’t anything new.

I do respect the hell out of Vegas’ business ethos. I think more teams in the NHL could stand to be more like Vegas…but I draw the line exactly at Carter Hart. Even being ruthless in all things means you at least need to be able to generate positive buzz about yourself most of the time. That’s just asking for trouble. Oh, and Torts is here? Fantastic. Let’s get all the repugnant twerps in that glittering mustard sweater.

Meanwhile the Utah Mammoth have just been cruising, have been trying to find something that works to entertain their audience of largely bewildered but excited mormons, who likely have not had an outlet of violent competition in Salt Lake in a good long time. Making the playoffs in year two is a great sign; they should anyway given how young and talented they are, but what they have to do is establish a baseline in this series. Whether I like them or not, Vegas is pretty good. Great on some shifts, even. What Utah has to set is the tone for future years; can they adjust to the pressure? Can they find another gear? If not, where does the hesitation come from?

It’s all up to the Mammoth now to find out.

There was a ton of anticipation heading into the first-round matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, as it was the first time in four years the Penguins had reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But the Penguins did not have the look of a team that was ready for it.

In the series opener, the Flyers took down the Penguins by a narrow score of 3-2 in what was one of Pittsburgh's sloppier efforts of the season. Bryan Rust scored a goal to bring the Penguins within one with just a minute remaining in regulation, but it was not enough to force overtime, and the Penguins find themselves down in the best-of-seven series, 1-0. 

The Penguins were never really able to get to their game at all in this one, as Philadelphia's neutral zone play and counterattack were puzzles they couldn't solve. 

"I think we've got to just put pucks behind them," defenseman Ryan Shea said. "They had a really good neutral zone. We just can't let it rattle us and default to, I guess, old school hockey and just get it behind them and go to work there, and use our bodies, use our forecheck that's been good all year. I think once that happens, then the neutral zone starts to open up."

Aside from a few odd-man breaks - all of which Penguins' goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped - the first period was relatively uneventful for both teams, as there was no score after one and the Penguins were outshot, 10-5. There was a lot of physicality and some nastiness brewing, though, and at one point, Sidney Crosby ripped the helmet off Flyers' defenseman Jamie Drysdale, and Drysdale continued to play without his helmet. Crosby was called for roughing, and Drysdale was not called for continuing to play - although he was assessed an interference penalty. 

Much was the same in the first half the second period, but the Flyers finally got rewarded for their efforts when Drysdale threw a puck toward the net from the right circle, and it found its way through traffic and past Skinner to give Philadelphia the 1-0 lead.

EAST SIDE STRIKES FIRST. #PHIvsPIT | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/WtKs41kE2U

— x - Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 19, 2026

The Penguins responded six and a half minutes later, though, after building a little bit of momentum near the end of the middle frame. They were pressuring in the offensive zone, and they had a few scoring chances and a few big rebounds from Flyers' goaltender Dan Vladar. 

Tommy Novak pounced on one of those rebounds, and he executed a beautiful no-look backhand pass from the goal line back to Evgeni Malkin, who was waiting at the bottom of the right circle. Malkin put it home to tie the game, and the Penguins seemed to be on the upswing.

MALKAMANIA IN THE 412 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/zWhgYuI6WS

— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 19, 2026

However, a late-period penalty by Anthony Mantha thwarted some of that momentum, and that carried into the third period. At the midway point of the third, Travis Sanheim made a nice play to get off a shot from the slot, and he restored the Flyers' lead at 2-1. The Penguins had trouble generating much of anything after that, and rookie Porter Martone scored the eventual game-winner with a snipe for his first career playoff goal with two and a half minutes remaining in regulation, making Rust's goal moot.

MARTY PARTY HARD. #PHIvsPIT | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/OFss5fPrej

— x - Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 19, 2026

👇 https://t.co/5QHPZt1JBOpic.twitter.com/mquQFQfdZD

— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 19, 2026

There were a lot of issues for the Penguins in this one - from their slogged start to their sloppy play, especially along the offensive blue line and in the neutral zone - but the power play continues to be an area that needs a bit of improvement. After being in the top-five for the vast majority of the season, the Penguins' PP dropped to seventh in the league (24.1 percent) before the end of the regular season, and they were 0-for-2 in this one. 

Philadelphia's penalty kill was ranked 22nd (77.6 percent) during the regular season, so the Penguins need to find a way to get back to basics on the man advantage. 

"I think the first one there is just a little bit of the execution, a little bit of the timing," head coach Dan Muse said. "And then, that kind of led into some of the breakouts as well.

"I mean, listen, this group has done a good job this year. It's part of it. Just like our team game, I think it's got to be a quick regroup there with that, and that's what we expect to see."

On the flip side, the Penguins' penalty kill with Blake Lizotte back in the lineup was outstanding, neutralizing all three Flyers' power play opportunities and generating some chances the other way. 

Crosby commended the work of the PK unit and hopes the power play can reward those guys on the other end of it in Game 2.

"Really good. They're a dangerous power play, and I thought they did a good job of giving us momentum from the kills," Crosby said. "So, yeah, it's unfortunate that we couldn't help them on the other side."

The Penguins will face the Flyers in Game 2 Monday at 7:00 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh.

'This Is What You Play For': Penguins Thrilled To Be Back In Playoff Picture, Confident About IdentityThe Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years - and their longest-tenured veterans are itching for a chance to bring home another championship for the organization.

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Three Takeaways:

- This is the sloppiest game I've seen the Penguins play in quite a while. They had absolutely nothing for most of the night, and it was clear that the Flyers' neutral zone trap was frustrating them immensely. 

It also didn't help that emotions were running high in this one from the jump, and that was the case with everyone - even the veterans. Players were gripping sticks too tight, making poor decisions with the puck (especially along the offensive blue line, where Malkin turned the puck over twice, leading to breakaways the other way), and trying to look for the perfect play instead of simplifying and getting pucks to the net.

This is the way Rick Tocchet's Flyers play when they aren't trailing in a game, and it's the same blueprint teams like the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators use. The key to Monday's game for the Penguins will be getting ahead early and forcing the Flyers to cheat for offense - hopefully, exposing that neutral zone a whole lot more. 

'I Think It's Going To Be Something Special': Penguins' Playoff 'First-Timers' Look Forward To Game 1The Pittsburgh Penguins have a ton of Stanley Cup Playoff experience spread across their roster - but six players will get their first taste of NHL playoff hockey starting Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

- I'm not sure the Penguins' top-six is optimal at the moment. 

I understand that Rickard Rakell has played very well at center down the stretch and for most of the season, so I think most of the reasoning behind the lines being what they are is to keep Rakell in that position while distributing the scoring. I also understand that the Rakell-Crosby-Rust combo hasn't worked quite as well this season as in years past.

But the second line earlier this season that was Egor Chinakhov, Tommy Novak, and Evgeni Malkin? They were operating like a machine. My feeling is that the Penguins simply like Rakell better in that 2C position than they do Novak, which makes sense, given Rakell's play. 

But, if the Penguins continue to struggle generating offense in Game 2, I'd highly consider switching things up. Time is not a luxury in the playoffs, and resorting to what's familiar may actually work in their favor if they're in a pinch.

- Skinner was outstanding in this game. In the live game blog I had going, there were three or four instances of "Skinner makes a nice save on an odd-man break" or something to that effect.

In fact, he made three breakaway stops in the second period alone on Trevor Zegras, Noah Cates, and Owen Tippett. 

The Penguins need to make his job a whole lot easier in Game 2, but he kept him in this game. In my book, he is the clear starter for Game 2. It shouldn't even be a question after this performance. 

GAME BLOG: Pittsburgh Penguins v. Philadelphia Flyers, Game 1Follow along with the THN - Pittsburgh Penguins' LIVE game blog for Round 1, Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers

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Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!      

The Dallas Stars, despite reaching the conference finals the past three seasons, have a poor record in Game 1s.

The effort in their Saturday, April 18 playoff opener was poorer than usual.

The Stars were routed 6-1 at home by the Minnesota Wild and find themselves trailing after the first game of the series for the ninth time in their last 11 openers.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said "to a man," the Wild were better than his team, which didn't happen a lot during the regular season.

"You can't get your game going if you're not going to win battles," he told reporters. "You can take any metric and if you lose skating battles and puck battles, you're always on the receiving end of everything negative."

The Stars, under previous coach Peter DeBoer, overcame a 5-1 loss in their 2025 playoff opener to beat the Colorado Avalanche in seven games, so they are far from in trouble.

"There's room for growth," Gulutzan said.

Here are the winners and losers from the opening night of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs:

WINNERS

Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild

Coach John Hynes chose the rookie over veteran Filip Gustavsson for Game 1. Wallstedt made 27 saves for a victory in his first playoff game. In fact, coaches made the right decisions in net in other games. Carolina veteran Frederik Andersen got the start over Brandon Bussi and had a 22-save shutout. Stuart Skinner kept the Penguins in the game during their loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Porter Martone, Philadelphia Flyers

What a move on his goal, which ended up being the game-winner at Pittsburgh. He skated hard into the zone, stopped, circled back and ripped a shot past Skinner for a 3-1 lead. Martone is 19 and just signed after his Michigan State season ended.

WHAT A SHOT 🎯

PORTER MARTONE RIPS ONE HOME IN HIS FIRST EVER GAME IN THE #STANLEYCUP PLAYOFFS!

🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASportspic.twitter.com/OyGrs7AgrV

— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2026

Wild power play

The Wild had the third-best power play in the regular season behind Dallas and the Edmonton Oilers. It connected twice in Saturday's game, with both goals by Joel Eriksson Ek.

LOSERS

Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars

He was pulled in his last playoff game in 2025 by DeBoer and gave up five goals on Saturday. Gulutzan never considered pulling Oettinger, saying he didn't think goaltending was an issue in the loss.

"I'm going to be a lot better next game," Oettinger said.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Flyers did what they could to get Crosby off his game. He took two penalties in the game, the first one for pulling off Jamie Drysdale's helmet. He was sent off the ice for a retaliatory slash on Travis Sanheim, who had cross-checked him. That meant Crosby was unavailable as the Penguins were pressing to rally from a 3-1 deficit late in the third period.

Crosby got a penalty for ripping off Drysdale’s helmet 😭 pic.twitter.com/lbaU7Et8E1

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 19, 2026

"We have to stay out of it a little more and trust that when they try to stir it up that they're going to be penalized for it," Crosby told reporters.

Artem Zub, Ottawa Senators

The Senators defenseman delivered a big hit on Carolina's Seth Jarvis but took the worst of it. He exited the game, leaving Ottawa short-handed on defense in a 2-0 loss. There was no update on his condition after the game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL playoff openers winners and losers: Stars crushed in Game 1

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It’s a high-stakes 4-pack on Sunday, with four NHL Stanley Cup Playoff series kicking off, starting in Colorado and ending in Las Vegas. 
 
What better place to start my NHL player props than the league’s goal-scoring leader, Nathan MacKinnon?

Read below for my free NHL picks on Sunday, April 19.

Best NHL player prop bets today

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(not available in Ontario)

Our best NHL player props for Sunday, April 19

Take a look at our best bets and expert analysis below.

Prop #1: Nathan MacKinnon to score

-125 at BET99

The Colorado Avalanche star sniper blistered the league for 53 goals, the second time in three years he’s gone for 50+. 
 
Now Nathan MacKinnon draws the Kings, a team he’s lit up for 10 goals and 27 points in the last 15 games. 
 
He’s also tallied in three straight Game 1’s in the postseason. 

• Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: TNT, truTV

Prop #2: Cole Caufield Over 0.5 assists

+140 at BET99

I’m taking Cole Caufield to pick up a helper here as it’s got just a little bit more juice than lighting the lamp. 
 
The NHL’s no. 2 goal scorer behind MacKinnon this season has been doing damage at Tampa Bay, picking up points in four of his last five games there, with two goals and three assists. 

• Time: 5:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: TNT, truTV

Prop #3: David Pastrnak to score

+170 at BET99

Let’s wrap up with Boston’s top scorer, who has absolutely feasted on the Sabres, picking up points in 15 of his last 16 games.
 
This might be just the matchup David Pastrnak needs. He hasn’t scored a goal in 10 straight, but he’s tallied in three straight games against Buffalo, and I’m banking on him making it four.

• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ESPN

These props are available now at BET99, one of our best betting sites.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Pregame

The Penguins get both Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte back from injury, forcing Justin Brazeau out of the lineup. Stuart Skinner gets the call to get the first start.

How we're lining up for Game 1 👇 pic.twitter.com/uOXjPwSmU3

— x – Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 18, 2026

First period

The Flyers make the first mistake when Rasmus Ristolainen hits Elmer Soderblom way after a whistle stops play. Philadelphia to the penalty box 1:53 in. The first power play comes up empty, despite a few Egor Chinakhov shot attempts.

Kris Letang gets the Penguins into trouble hacking at a Flyer after getting hurried. Late in the power play Christian Dvorak barges into Skinner, kicks the puck and lands on the goalie. The puck goes in but the referees immediately wave off the goal as being no good. No goal.

You knew this series was gonna be physical 🍿

A potential #Flyers goal waved off as they bulldoze Stu ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Fk5hzCqL4N

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 19, 2026

More penalties come when Sidney Crosby pulls the helmet off Jamie Drysdale. Drysdale doesn’t leave the play immediately so he goes for what’s called interference, Crosby for roughing to bring on 4v4 play.

Intense period, no goals that count. Philadelphia takes a 9-5 edge in shots through 20 minutes.

Second period

Skinner stays sharp making a big stop on Trevor Zegras and then another on Noah Cates in the early going of the second.

Dewar gets hobbled by a hit from Tippett and is hunched over, leaving the game temporarily but didn’t miss a shift.

Tippett gets sprung for another breakaway and gets denied by Skinner. The shift continues as the Flyers isolate on the Sam Girard – Letang pair and the fourth line. Zegras gets the puck low to high for Drysdale who walks up to the circle and uses the traffic in front to sneak a low wrister past Skinner. 1-0 Flyers get the first goal 9:19 into the second period.

EAST SIDE STRIKES FIRST. #PHIvsPIT | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/WtKs41kE2U

— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 19, 2026

Looking for a response, the Pens step up their pressure a little and Crosby draws a penalty driving to the net and forcing Travis Sanheim to take him down. Pittsburgh is as disconnected as ever, the first group failed to get a zone entry without going offsides.

Back at 5v5, the Penguins get their best shift of the game and convert it to a goal. A long shift wears down the Flyers, who get trapped as Pittsburgh changes lines with the benches being near the offensive zone. Rickard Rakell shoots a puck that Dan Vladar kicks out, right to Evgeni Malkin. Malkin charges in and beats Vladar with a low shot. 1-1 game as the Pens get on the board.

EVGENI MALKIN 🗣️

IT'S LOUD IN PITTSBURGH RIGHT NOW! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASportspic.twitter.com/xP8NXFktyz

— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2026

The Flyers are the next to the power play when Anthony Mantha gets busted for cross checking. The period ends while they’re on it.

Shots in the second are 7-5 Philadelphia. The Penguins aren’t playing very well, but they found a way to get an answer and somehow aren’t trailing after 40 minutes despite their poor play.

Third period

Philadelphia doesn’t score on their carryover power play and the Pens’ PK improves to 3/3 on the night.

The Pens look good at the start, Soderblom drove to the net and got a good shot away, momentum derailed when Mantha took his second offensive zone penalty of the game by high-sticking Porter Martone. The Flyers get some zone time but no goal.

The Flyers find that goal with 10:00 left. Sanheim dances around Soderblom then shoots back across his body to catch Skinner deep in the crease. 2-1 PHI.

Sanny Snipe Show in the Steel City. 🎯#PHIvsPIT | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/wKP2bq9rC3

— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 19, 2026

The Pens are pushing to try and find a tie goal and then the rookie Martone extends the lead. He did well to hold the puck and let Noel Acciari skate away from him, then pick the top corner on Skinner. 3-1 with only 2:37 to go.

MARTY PARTY HARD. #PHIvsPIT | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/OFss5fPrej

— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 19, 2026

Pittsburgh pulled the goalie to try and attack more. Away from the play Crosby and Sanheim start jousting with dueling cross-checks. Both get sent off on matching penalties. The Pens pull Skinner again to make it a 5v4 situation. Bryan Rust scores, finding a bounce off a Malkin shot attempt and then throwing it in past Vladar.

WE WANT MORE 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6QCEWMcRoC

— x – Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 19, 2026

But they run out of time. Mantha gets a chance going through the crease, Vladar keeps it out. The clock runs out.

Some thoughts

• It wasn’t a pretty start for the Penguins in the first period which set the tone for the game. The Flyers had them hemmed up a lot of times, stopping breakouts and using a lot of speed and pressure to turn the game into a tough battle. Philadelphia was great with their counter-attacks once they gained possession and very physical shown by a 16-8 edge in hits in the first period. It was about as close to a dream scenario they could dream up for a start for a road game, sans not being able to score on Skinner.
• The coaching chess moves are always an interesting wrinkle to track in a playoff series. Rick Tocchet was starting his checking line with Sean Couturier in the middle for the opening faceoff of the periods. The Penguins didn’t avoid the matchup at the beginning of the game, starting the Crosby line for the first. Then the Pens adjusted and started the second period with their Ben Kindel line (with the third defensive pair), freeing Crosby up for the second shift of the period away from Couturier.
• The Penguins were shockingly disconnected, their passes were all over the place, they were on their heels and unable to get much of anything going. What should have been a weakness, in goal, was actually the best part of the team. What was supposed to be the strength, like power play and their forwards, played very poorly.
• The Bob Grove stat of the day points out the Pens were in 2017 territory (which isn’t a compliment in this reference) by only generating 10 shots on goal through 40 minutes. The only two times they had that low of a shot output in franchise history both happened in the 2017 run.
• Blake Lizotte came back and the penalty kill that was leaky without him tightened right back up immediately with a perfect night tonight. The Flyers’ power play wasn’t very good in the regular season but it was a good night to have a good night while shorthanded since the Pens power play wasn’t performing well.
• In the end it was too little, too late for the Pens. They didn’t play particularly well, yet still had a last gasp chance to force OT. That’s a positive outlook, on the other side it’s concerning to come out and lay an egg at home for the playoff opener.

Well, the Pens have a lot to think about and adjust before heading into Game 2 on Monday after playing a very poor game to start the playoffs. They’re going to need to regroup and try again.

The San Jose Sharks missed the NHL playoffs but they have every reason to be optimistic about their future.

Their standout young phenom, center Macklin Celebrini, finished a stellar 2025-26 season where he broke a team record and indicated that he wants to be in San Jose in the long run.

During player exit interviews, a 19-year-old Celebrini told reporters that he wants to commit to the Sharks, following his sophomore season.

When asked if he'd welcome a contract extension over the summer, Celebrini responded, "Yeah, I'm open to it."

"I want to commit to this team and being here. I love it here," he said. "So I'm open to whatever happens."

Pittsburgh Penguins v. Philadelphia Flyers - Game 1 (PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Updated start time: 8:25 p.m. ET

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Penguins' projected lines and pairings:

Forwards
Egor Chinakhov - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak - Rickard Rakell - Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Soderblom - Ben Kindel - Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

Defensemen
Parker Wotherspoon - Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard - Kris Letang
Ryan Shea - Connor Clifton

Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner (starter)
Arturs Silovs (backup)

---

Flyers' projected lines and pairings:

Per Siobhan Nolan of THN - Philadelphia Flyers:

Forwards
Travis Konecny - Christian Dvorak - Porter Martone
Matvei Michkov - Noah Cates - Denver Barkey
Tyson Foerster - Trevor Zegras - Owen Tippett
Luke Glendening - Sean Couturier - Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler - Emil Andrae

Goaltenders
Dan Vladar
Samuel Ersson

---

First period

Let's see if this thing starts at 8:25.

- Well, the puck DID drop at 8:25, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were here to give the "It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh" opener. Good stuff.

Also, it is very, very loud. Deafening. "Flyers suck" chants already ringing.

- Flyers have already hit the post once, and fisticuffs are already being thrown. Flyers to the box, as Ristolainen gets an early penalty for roughing. Penguins to the game's first power play.

- PP looks a bit disjointed early on. A few chances on shots from the point, and an Egor Chinakhov chance off the rush.

- Rakell throwing around the body quite a bit early on. Already two or three hits from him, and we're six minutes into this game. Lots of physicality in general.

- Letang goes to the box for tripping at 6:37. Still no score. Flyers to the power play after the TV timeout.

- Well, the Flyers appeared to have scored the first goal of the game on their power play, but it was waived off. Can't make a beeline straight into the goaltender, squeak the puck through, and expect not to get called. Usually, that is.

Other than blip, the Penguins' PK is back - just as Blake Lizotte is back. Great stuff from the PK unit. 

- Sidney Crosby rips of Jamie Drysdale's helmet. No call. Drysdale continues to play, which is... not allowed. 

And after the refs convene, Crosby is called for roughing. But, not sure why Drysdale isn't also penalized there for continuing to play without his lid, unless I'm missing something here. 

Well, never mind. Drysdale is called for interference at 11:16, along with Crosby's roughing. We'll play four-on-four for two minutes. 

- Just over seven minutes left in the first, and the Penguins are being outshot, 10-4. It doesn't necessarily feel that way (not entirely, anyway), but Philly has controlled the majority of even-strength play in this opening period. 

- Malkin, Chinakhov, and Mantha are out there for a straggled shift together. Generated a few chances. Around six minutes to play in the first. 

- Nice stick by Connor Clifton with 2:40 left to prevent a high-danger opportunity for Philly in the slot. Skinner (Stuuuuuu) makes a save shortly afterward on a perimeter shot. 

About a minute earlier, Soderblom created a chance for himself off the rush. He took a pass and gained the zone down the right side, and he did a little toe drag and put a pretty heavy shot on goal from the top of the right circle. I continue to be impressed by this guy's puck skills and the way he uses his reach. 

- END OF FIRST PERIOD - 

Score: 0-0  |  Shots: Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 10

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Second period

- The Penguins just put up a stat on the video board that Pittsburgh is 12-1-3 in its last 16 games against the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena. That's a pretty glaring disparity. 

- Penguins have been far too sloppy in this one, and that trend continues into the second period. Skinner makes a breakaway save on Trevor Zegras a minute and 20 seconds into the middle frame, and a minute later, Evgeni Malkin whiffs on a pass at the right point and gives it away to Noah Cates, who turns it back for a chance against (another save by Skinner).

Nice job by Ryan Shea to get back on that play and put some pressure on Cates to shoot, essentially taking away the pass. 

- Pens registered their first shot on goal in the second with a few ticks under 14 minutes to go in the middle frame. Flyers have simply been the better hockey team up to this point. Penguins are passing up far too many opportunities to get pucks to the net.

- Skinner ANOTHER breakaway save, this time on Owen Tippett, with 11:38 to go in the second. The Penguins are really playing with fire here. Philly is catching their blueline cheating a bit. 

- GOAL (PHILADELPHIA): Jamie Drysdale (1), from Trevor Zegras and Denver Barkey. 1-0 Philadelphia over Pittsburgh (9:19).

- Flyers were bound to break through eventually. Drysdale just throws a puck to the net from the right circle, and it finds its way through traffic and past Skinner. 

- Sanheim goes for interference. Knocked Crosby down, and he slid into the post. He's okay, but teammates take exception. Rust, Clifton, and Chinakhov all getting mixed up. Penguins to the power play at 10:38. They trail, 1-0. 

- The Penguins have tried to enter the attacking zone three different times on this power play and have failed each time. Whistled down. They can't get anything generated. The man advantage is a mess so far tonight. 

- Nice stick play by Wotherspoon in the d-zone to break up an odd-man break, as Cates had Barkey breaking to the net. This was after an o-zone turnover by Chinakhov.

- GOAL (PITTSBURGH): Evgeni Malkin (1), from Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell. 1-1 tie (15:51).

- What a pass by Novak there. The Penguins were getting some chances in tight on Vladar, and he puts a perfect no-look backhand pass from the goal line right on the tape of Malkin, who was waiting for it in the right circle. Beautiful play.

The Penguins needed that one. The building was being drained of life with the Flyers' lead and the way the home team had been playing up that point. This gave them some much-needed momentum. 

- An Anthony Mantha blast hits Soderblom in front, and he is being tended to by trainers on the Penguins' bench. Not sure where he got hit, but it looked like he was favoring one of his legs heading to the bench. 

- Mantha then goes to the box for cross-checking on the same shift. Flyers to the power play late in the second (18:48).

- Skinner has been outstandng in this one. He needs more support in the final frame. 

- END OF SECOND PERIOD - 

Score: 1-1  |  Shots: Pittsburgh 10, Philadelphia 16  |  Goals by Jamie Drysdale (PHI) and Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

---

Third period

- Penguins still had 45 seconds to kill off on the Mantha minor to begin the third. They not only kill it off, the PK earned a glorious shorthanded chance just before time expired. Connor Dewar almost tipped on in at the goal mouth.

This PK is literally just a different animal altogether with Lizotte in the picture.

- Soderblom has got some great hands. Used his frame to power his way to the net for a chance (16:55) there, too. Really like his game tonight.

- Anthony Mantha goes for high-sticking at 3:48. Flyers to the power play. Offensive zone penalty by Mantha there.  

- Lizotte with a pickpocket and a clear on the PK. There he is again. 

- A "F--- you, Philly" chant rings through the arena. The proud people of Pittsburgh are letting this team have it right now. 

- Another Malkin turnover at the offensive blue line. Breakaway for Denver Barkey. Skinner comes up big again, and Karlsson kind of pressures him, too. Way too careless with the puck right now.

- GOAL (PHILADELPHIA): Travis Sanheim (1), from Rasmus Ristolainen and Christian Dvorak (10:02). 2-1 Philadelphia over Pittsburgh.

- Sanheim puts one home from the slot. Nice move around a few guys on that one, too. Penguins really just haven't had it all night. 

- GOAL (PHILADELPHIA): Porter Martone (1), from Travis Konecny (17:23). 3-1 Philadelphia over Pittsburgh.

- Just a snipe by Martone. Nothing you can really do about that one. The Penguins have a tall mountain to climb in the last three and a half here if they're going to claw their way back into it.

- GOAL (PITTSBURGH): Bryan Rust - PPG (1), from Malkin and Karlsson (18:59). 3-2 Philadelphia over Pittsburgh.

- END GAME -

Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 2 (Philadelphia leads series, 1-0)

---

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The Buffalo Sabres practiced at KeyBank Center on Saturday in preparation for their first playoff series since 2011, and had nearly a full complement of players.  Sabres Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon took to the ice for the first time in over a week and according to head coach Lindy Ruff, he would be available for the start of the series against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night. 

Lyon suffered a lower-body injury at practice in New York prior to their win over the Rangers on April 8 and third-stringer Colten Ellis stepped in for two starts in the final week of the regular season. Ellis also suffered an unspecified injury at the end of the season, but Ruff indicated that both netminders were ready to go.

Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in the home goal during the morning workout, giving a preliminary indication that the big Finn will be the Sabres starter in Game 1. 

Ostlund last played in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins on March 25 and missed the final three weeks of the season with an upper-body injury, but Ruff was optimistic about the rookie’s chances of returning to the lineup in the near future. 

Other Sabres Stories

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"It's his first day back with us. We're going to get him involved in a little bit of physical contact and see where he's at. He has been skating. We've just been trying to get him to that next level (and) today was that next level," Ruff said.  "We'll see how he feels after taking faceoffs and being involved in practice and (he's) definitely a possibility, I don't know for game one, but he is right there knocking on the door now."

 Ruff also reacted to the comments of Bruins head coach Marco Sturm, that his club is bigger, stronger, and more physical and that Boston’s game plan is to go after the Sabres.  

"That's his take on his team. I have a lot of respect for what our team has done and how we play and the speed we play the game," Ruff said.  "They've got a good team. They know who they are, and we know who we are."

The Bruins have been a physical team all season, and will likely be targeting their forechecking on Buffalo’s key players: centers Tage Thompson, Josh Norris, and winger Alex Tuch up front, and Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram on the back end. Boston will likely look to match up veteran Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm against the Sabres top two lines centered by Thompson and Norris, while relying on their heavy forecheck and hard-hitting blueliners Charlie McAvoy to lay the body on Buffalo forwards. The series may come down what playoff series always come down to; special teams and which goaltender will perform better under pressure. 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

Big third period, strong defensive effort propel Flyers to Game 1 win over Penguins originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PITTSBURGH — In a physical, chippy start to the playoffs Saturday night, the Flyers beat the Penguins, 3-2, at PPG Paints Arena.

Travis Sanheim scored the go-ahead goal at the halfway mark of the third period as the Flyers took Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series with Pittsburgh. The Flyers’ defenseman made a skillful move to split two Penguins and fire home the puck from the slot.

Porter Martone provided important insurance with an absolute snipe. Bryan Rust made it interesting for Pittsburgh with a late goal. However, the Flyers held on, thanks to a key save by Dan Vladar.

Jamie Drysdale opened the scoring past the midway point of the game, but Evgeni Malkin struck later in the second period to make it 1-1.

Rick Tocchet’s club, though, played a strong defensive game and had a terrific third period.

The Flyers were playing their first playoff game since 2020 after snapping their five-year drought Monday night.

The Penguins are back in the postseason for the first time since 2022.

The scene before Game 1 of Flyers-Penguins first-round playoff series. pic.twitter.com/2eGVauk3Dq

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) April 19, 2026

• Vladar, who enjoyed a breakout regular season, carried the momentum into the playoffs.

The 28-year-old converted 15 saves on 17 shots.

On Malkin’s game-tying goal, the Flyers got stuck in the defensive zone. Vladar made an initial save, but the rebound sprung to Malkin, who fired away from the circle.

But Vladar was his reliable self and the Flyers didn’t give up many quality looks.

Pittsburgh netminder Stuart Skinner was solid, turning away a number of good chances by the Flyers. He had 17 saves on 20 shots.

Sanheim and Martone beat him on sharp shots.

Before that, Skinner stopped Denver Barkey in the third period after the rookie picked off a pass to go the other way.

A little before the halfway mark of the game, Skinner denied an Owen Tippett breakaway after Tyson Foerster made a great stretch pass. But the Flyers struck 58 seconds later when Drysdale scored his first career playoff goal.

• Rick Tocchet’s club really wants to keep this series at 5-on-5 as much as possible.

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

The Flyers didn’t give Pittsburgh much.

Meanwhile, the Flyers thought they had a power play goal and 1-0 lead in the first period when Christian Dvorak careened toward the net. He ended up barreling into Skinner slightly before the puck crossed the goal line. The officials waved it off immediately and stuck with the call after some consultation.

So, in a simpler way of putting it, the league credited Skinner with the save before Dvorak ran into him, which caused the puck to come loose.

The Flyers’ power play finished 0 for 3.

• At just 19 years old and three weeks since leaving college, Martone made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.

Think about this: Martone was just 2 years old when Sidney Crosby won his first of three Stanley Cup titles. Interestingly, Martone got the chance to see Crosby up close last offseason as teammates on Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

“You could say he’s kind of like your hockey idol when you’re a kid,” Martone said after morning skate. “Win Stanley Cups, captain of Team Canada, he’s kind of the face of the NHL, too. It’s someone who I’ve looked up to as a kid. You see what he has done for the game of hockey. He’s not just a great hockey player, but he’s an even better human, what he does in the community. So it’s going to be exciting to go against him this series.”

Martone played well in his first taste of the playoffs. He made some things happen and didn’t try to do too much. He also shrugged off a so-so start. His goal was a beauty and pretty much sealed the Flyers’ win.

• Led by Sean Couturier and Garnet Hathaway, the Flyers’ fourth line played with a style that’s needed this time of year.

Tocchet relied on that line to start the first and second periods. The veteran group finished its checks and was dependable all night.

• The series picks back up Monday with Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).