The Pittsburgh Penguins are halfway to history.
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are aiming to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0. They’ve won two straight games to force Game 6 in Philadelphia.
“It’s quite clear the situation for us is win or go home,” said Crosby, who had two assists in a 3-2 win in Game 5. “I think that urgency, that desperation, whatever you want to call it, I think has brought (out) some of our best hockey because of it. So, we just gotta keep going here.”
The Flyers are among the four teams that have rallied to win a series after losing the first three games. They did it against Boston in the second round in 2010. Philadelphia ended up reaching the Stanley Cup Final that season, losing to Chicago.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Flyers forward Owen Tippett said. “We knew we weren’t going to win every game. Reset and get back at it.”
While Philadelphia aims to advance to the second round for the first time since 2020, there are two Game 5s featuring series locked in a 2-2 tie.
The Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Canadiens 3-2 in Montreal in Game 4, tying the series and regaining home-ice advantage.
The Vegas Golden Knights squandered a three-goal lead but came back to defeat the Utah Mammoth 5-4 on Shea Theodore’s goal with 51.5 seconds left in overtime to even their series.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers
When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT (TNT).
Series: Flyers lead 3-2.
Philadelphia’s seemingly comfortable 3-0 series lead doesn’t feel quite so comfortable anymore, not after consecutive victories by the Penguins in which Pittsburgh captain Crosby has been at his brilliant best.
Crosby had a goal and an assist in Game 4, then backed it up with perhaps an even better performance in Game 5, dishing out a pair of helpers, the second of which set up Kris Letang’s game-winning goal just moments after Crosby took a slapshot to his left knee and limped to the training room.
While the Flyers still are in a solid position to do what all but four teams in NHL history have done — winning a series after taking the first three games — for a youth-laden club in its first playoff series in six years, the fourth win is proving to be the hardest.
“Even though 3-0 sounded nice, we knew it wasn’t going to be over,” Philadelphia goaltender Dan Vladar said.
It’s not. The Penguins steadily have regained the form that made them one of the league’s biggest surprises during the regular season. They received secondary scoring in Game 5— third-liner Elmer Soderblom scored his first of the playoffs and fourth-liner Connor Dewar notched his second — and then clamped down during the third period to extend their season.
A chance to shift all of the pressure on the Flyers awaits if Pittsburgh can find a way to force a Game 7.
“I think the last couple games we found our stride a bit,” said Crosby, who now has 100 wins in the playoffs. “We should feel good about that. ... We’re playing good hockey and we’ve got to go in there and find a way to win again.”
Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN).
Series: Tied 2-2.
After three overtime games, one finally was decided in regulation when Brandon Hagel scored two goals to lift the Lightning to a 3-2 win. Hagel has six goals in the series.
“He’s definitely become the straw that stirs our drink,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Even when we went down 2-0, he stood up and looked both ways and, literally I think, captivated the bench with what he was saying and the message he was delivering.”
Hagel’s words motivated his teammates and Max Crozier inspired them with his actions.
The Lightning were down 2-0 in the second period when Crozier flattened Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky with a hard hit in the middle of the ice. The legal check energized Tampa Bay and changed the momentum of the game.
“The hit obviously got our bench out of their seats,” Cooper said. “But you still have to take advantage of that. We score in the last minute of the second, and in the first minute of the third, and all of a sudden the game’s completely changed. It helped take the crowd out of it.”
The Canadiens have to rebound after wasting a two-goal lead at home and missing an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. They can’t dwell on Game 4.
“That’s a veteran team. They’re very good at drawing penalties. They got talented players,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “They’re a tough team and we knew it was going to be a tough series. We’re right in it. We’re in a battle. It’s a fine line between winning and losing in these games, but we’re battling.”
Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, Wednesday, 10 p.m. EDT (TNT, truTV HBO Max).
Series: Tied 2-2.
This opening-round series has a sense of deja vu for the Golden Knights, and Vegas hopes that’s a good sign of what’s to come.
The Golden Knights opened last year’s playoffs by prevailing in six games over the Wild. Vegas split the first two games at home, was blown out in Game 3 at Minnesota and won in overtime in Game 4 before going on to take the next two games and the series.
And the series with the Mammoth?
The almost exact beginning.
But financial advisers often warn that past performances aren’t necessarily indicative of future results, and the Golden Knights know they have a fight on their hands if they are to advance to the second round.
“I really like our squad,” coach John Tortorella said. “The most important thing for our team is to know who we are, know who you are as a club, and we are a really good hockey club. No matter what happens, we move forward with the highs and lows of a series.”
There was plenty of both for both teams in a 5-4 Vegas overtime victory at Salt Lake City.
The Golden Knights went up 3-0, Utah roared back with four unanswered goals and Vegas forced overtime in the third period. Then the Golden Knights thought they won in OT before an offside review wiped out Pavel Dorofeyev’s goal, and then actually won it on Jack Eichel’s sensational pass to Shea Theodore in the high slot for the winner with less than a minute left in overtime.
“There is plenty of hockey left in this series; a tied series going back,” Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole said. “It’s a three-game series. (We’re) focusing on what we can control and where we stand right now. I think that will do us well.”
