PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 18: Connor Clifton #75 of the Pittsburgh Penguins tussles with Matvei Michkov #39 of the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period of Game One of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 18, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Penguins played a disjointed opening game against the Flyers and ended up falling 3-2 to their instate rivals to kick off their 2026 playoff series.
Where’d it all go wrong (aside from just about everything in the first 20-55 minutes?) Let’s take a look.
They weren’t alone in it, but the Sam Girard – Kris Letang pair had an absolutely brutal night
Sam Girard and Kris Letang had a tough night at the office last night. Letang was on the ice for all three goals the Flyers scored in Game 1, he also had to take a penalty after letting an opponent take the puck away from him. Girard wasn’t able to help and struggled just as much.
Per Moneypuck, Girard’s xGF% was 6.31%, to Letang’s 7.63. The Penguins aren’t going for anywhere but an early exit if their second pair defense is in the single digits of expected goal percentage. Girard and Letang were hardly alone at having bad nights: the vaunted fourth line had an XGF% in the 14-19% range, Karlsson didn’t score well on Game Score or xGF% either, Tommy Novak and Ben Kindel had difficult times getting their heads above water too, and on and on), yet they stand out as a glaring area to watch try and rebound in Game 2. One thing about Letang is he is not a very subtle player, it’s not going to be a secret to tell if he can pull the nose up or continues to struggle with the speed and pressure that Philadelphia is going to press upon him.
Failing to take advantage of a quick start
The beginnings of games should be toward Pittsburgh’s advantage, as we detailed here. They were one of the best first period teams this season, the Flyers were not. The Pens got handed a power play 1:53 into the game, the hot crowd was ready to explode and start the party. It did not work out that way and the tone for the rest of the game was set. The Pens couldn’t fight the momentum and Philadelphia poured it on them early to the tune of a 9-5 edge in shots for the first period.
Playing at home in the playoffs for the first time in four years, against a team with 10 players making their playoff debuts should have been a positive for the Penguins. It did not play out that way at all.
The line configurations didn’t work
The xGF% and shots for/against for the main lines went like this:
(The Flyers scored their eventual game-winner in the midst of a change while a ‘regular’ line wasn’t on the ice together in the course of play)
All those lines didn’t work. Chinakhov with Crosby still seems more like a new experiment than a fully-functioning combination in top form. Similarly, Rakell with Novak and Malkin is still in the finding their way stage. The third line might be the most disappointing at all on the stats (which is surprising since Soderblom had an impactful and positive game), but Kindel got buried and looked the way many hoped and expected that the Flyer young players would get pushed in the deep end. The decision to not play Justin Brazeau in the future will have to get reassessed. Even the fourth line that has been such a positive factor all year long was fighting and losing an uphill battle.
In short, it was a night nothing worked out well. The Flyers did their jobs, the Penguins looked lost and confused to where a lot of the people playing together weren’t connected enough. One game is one chapter of a series, now the Pens can take the chance to look at what they might need to change and try again the next time in Game 2 tomorrow.
When the Minnesota Wild (1-0) needed someone to take over, Kirill Kaprizov did what he’s been doing his entire playoff career.
He produced. And he produced at a level this franchise hasn’t seen before.
Kaprizov, 28, finished with a goal and two assists, marking his third career three-point game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most in Wild history.
His goal didn’t just add to the stat sheet either.
It stood as the game-winner over the Dallas Stars (0-1). This happened to be Kaprizov's third game-winning goal of his playoff career, tying Nino Niederreiter for the most in franchise history.
That goal also gave him 16 for his playoff career, tying Zach Parise for the most in Wild history. It’s a mark that’s been around for a while and Kaprizov has reached it in just 26 games.
That’s where things start to look different.
Kaprizov now has 16 goals in 26 career playoff games. Only five players in NHL history have scored at a higher rate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (minimum 10 games).
For a team that’s spent years trying to find consistent offense when it matters most, Kaprizov isn’t just contributing, he’s driving everything.
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The 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, and for the first time in eight years, the Anaheim Ducks are one of the final 16 teams. They qualified with 92 points in the standings, good enough for third place in the Pacific Division, dubbed the “pillow fight division” by a member of the Ducks’ first-round opponents.
The Ducks’ first-round opponent for their first playoff series since 2018 will be the back-to-back Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers finished second in the Pacific, earning themselves home ice advantage in the opening round.
With the Ducks representing a team with a young core and on the rise, and the Oilers representing a perennial Cup favorite whose tolerance for losing has completely evaporated, storylines are plentiful entering Monday’s game one matchup. Let’s get into some on the Ducks’ side of the red line:
Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Joel Quenneville Returns to the Postseason
The Ducks hired Quenneville on May 8, 2025, nearly four years since he’d last been behind an NHL bench as the head coach of the Florida Panthers. After due diligence, Ducks’ general manager Pat Verbeek made the decision to hire Quenneville ahead of the 2025-26 season, with a mandate from himself and ownership to make the playoffs as soon as the upcoming season.
The Ducks succeeded in their seemingly lofty goal, and Quenneville will return to coach an NHL playoff game for the first time since the 2020-21 season. In his 26 seasons as a head coach in the NHL, Quenneville’s teams have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs 22 times and won three Stanley Cups.
In the past, Quenneville has pulled the right strings at the right times to optimize his roster’s impact in each playoff series. He’s identified matchups to exploit, implemented game plans, and made proper adjustments through a grueling seven-game series.
The NHL landscape, skill level, and on-ice product/style have changed considerably since Quennville was winning Stanley Cups in the early-to-mid 2010’s with the Chicago Blackhawks and even since he last coached a playoff game. Will he be able to replicate what he accomplished in the past with an up-and-coming Ducks roster, as he had so many times in the past?
Backing into the Playoffs
On March 26, the Ducks seemingly had the Pacific Division all but wrapped up. With 86 points through 72 games, they had a five-point lead on the second-place Oilers, were primed to capture their first division title since 2017, and were destined for a first-round series against the Utah Mammoth.
Since that date, through the final ten games of the regular season, the Ducks went 2-6-2, were outscored 41-30, lost home ice advantage, and have to now play a significantly tougher opponent. They continued to face difficulties with poor starts, untimely poor puck or position decisions, and defending the tight areas of the defensive zone, areas that had plagued them for the majority of the first 72 games of the season as well. A difference down the stretch was also that their goaltending, which had kept them in games to that point, fell to mere human levels and was unable to continue bailing them out.
When the games mattered the most, in the regular season, they couldn’t meet the moment, perhaps leaving most analysts discouraged in their chances going into this series. On the encouraging end of the spectrum, though their special teams cratered, their last ten games was one of their best (or their best) stretches of the season at 5v5, as they accounted for 56.3% of the expected goals. Will they extract the positive while discarding the negative aspects of the last ten games when the pressure elevates even further?
Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images
Playoff Terry
Ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, Troy Terry sat fifth among active NHL players in games played without a playoff appearance (488), behind Mario Ferraro (490), Tage Thompson (529), Rasmus Dahlin (586), and Rasmus Ristolainen (820).
That streak is now over for Terry (along with three of the four players ahead of him). The monkey is off his back, and he’ll have the privilege of playing hockey in the playoffs. He had been the franchise’s most consistent player through the entirety of the rebuild, having now played for five different head coaches, and is the only roster player remaining from when the Ducks last made the playoffs in 2018.
Can Terry take his game to another level and shepherd the Ducks’ current and upcoming crop of young players toward realizing their full potential in their present and future playoff runs?
Feet Wet or Make Noise
Had anyone said on Oct. 9, 2025, that, in six months, the Anaheim Ducks were going to finish with 92 points, qualify for the playoffs, and end their eight-year postseason drought, anyone who follows the team and the team themselves would have been more than satisfied with that outcome for the 2025-26 season.
There’s a sense around various national media outlets that the Ducks don’t stand much of a chance in this series and should simply be happy to have made “the dance” and gain some valuable experience, getting their feet wet in these high-intensity games.
Those aspects are true. However, for the younger players, their inexperience could make them most dangerous, riding emotion while not fully grasping the pressure of playoff hockey, and for the aging veterans, they do understand the gravity of their situation and how it could represent the last or one of the last “kicks at the can.”
Can the Ducks capitalize on their blend of youthful naivete and veteran familiarity enough to upset a contender with two of the best centers in the world, both in their primes?
Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
An Allegory for the Passage of Time
Time is a flat circle. Teams’ trajectories rise and fall like a roller coaster, and much like in fashion, things in the NHL tend to come full circle. The Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks last met in the playoffs in the second round of the 2017 playoffs. That series will be remembered, from the Ducks’ perspective, for the “Comeback on Katella” in game five and the series that put an end to their four-game losing streak in game sevens.
That series now represents the last series win for the Ducks, as their contending window would violently shut after the 2016-17 season. From Edmonton’s perspective, that series represented the very first playoff loss for a 20-year-old Connor McDavid, 21-year-old Leon Draisaitl, 21-year-old Darnell Nurse, and 23-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, as they were coming off their first taste of playoff success in the series preceding, which advanced them to the second round.
Now, nine years later, McDavid is 29, Draisaitl is 30, Nurse is 30, and Nugent-Hopkins is 32. The Ducks, who have a completely different roster without any leftovers from that series, are the team with the young core on the rise. Led by Beckett Sennecke (20), Leo Carlsson (21), Cutter Gauthier (22), and Jackson LaCombe (25), this series will hopefully represent a similar sustainable window of contention.
Can this Ducks roster do what those Oilers couldn’t, and take down a Goliath, or, like on many occasions, will history repeat itself?
Game one of this series will commence on Monday, April 20, at 7 PM PST, in Edmonton.
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.
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.
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.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - MARCH 25: Fraser Minten #93 of the Boston Bruins battles for position against Alex Tuch #89 of the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on March 25, 2026 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
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.
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.
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.
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 18: Anthony Mantha #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game One of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 18, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
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.
Mar 2, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) defends the goal against Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly (17) in the third period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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?
Philadelphia Flyers (43-27-12, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-16, in the Metropolitan Division)
Pittsburgh; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Penguins -152, Flyers +127; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Flyers lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Flyers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Saturday for the sixth time this season. The Flyers won 3-2 in the last matchup.
Pittsburgh is 41-25-16 overall and 13-5-9 against the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have scored 290 total goals (3.5 per game) to rank third in NHL play.
Philadelphia has a 43-27-12 record overall and a 13-9-5 record in Metropolitan Division games. The Flyers have a +one scoring differential, with 240 total goals scored and 239 conceded.
TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Mantha has 33 goals and 31 assists for the Penguins. Rickard Rakell has seven goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
Owen Tippett has 28 goals and 23 assists for the Flyers. Porter Martone has scored five goals with six assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 5-5-0, averaging 4.5 goals, 7.6 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.
Flyers: 7-3-0, averaging 3.6 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.4 penalties and 6.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Penguins: Filip Hallander: out (leg), Caleb Jones: out for season (shoulder).
Flyers: Rodrigo Abols: out (ankle), Nikita Grebenkin: out (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Ottawa Senators (44-27-11, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (53-22-7, in the Metropolitan Division)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Hurricanes -148, Senators +124; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Hurricanes lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes host the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Saturday for the fifth time this season. The Hurricanes won the previous matchup 2-0.
Carolina has a 30-10-2 record at home and a 53-22-7 record overall. The Hurricanes are 19-4-3 in games decided by a single goal.
Ottawa is 44-27-11 overall and 21-16-5 on the road. The Senators have a 25-14-1 record in games they have fewer penalties than their opponent.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sebastian Aho has scored 27 goals with 53 assists for the Hurricanes. Logan Stankoven has eight goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
Dylan Cozens has 29 goals and 30 assists for the Senators. Drake Batherson has four goals and four assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 8-1-1, averaging four goals, 6.8 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game.
Senators: 6-3-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.1 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: None listed.
Senators: Tyler Kleven: day to day (upper body), Nick Jensen: out for season (lower-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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.
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.
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.
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 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'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.
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!
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.
"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.
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
Player
MacKinnon to score
-125
Caufield Over 0.5 assists
+140
Pastrnak to score
+170
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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.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
PITTSBURH (AP) — Travis Sanheim scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Philadelphia Flyers announced their return to the playoffs with a 3-2 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Philadelphia pulled off a stunner in the opener when Sanheim split a pair of Penguins at the top of the zone, glided down the slot and then fired the puck by Stuart Skinner. Porter Martone, the Flyers’ 19-year-old rookie forward, provided some needed insurance when he beat Skinner on a wrist shot with 2:37 to play.
Game 2 is in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Jamie Drysdale also scored for the Flyers, who hardly appeared intimidated by an electric PPG Paints Arena crowd buzzing by Pittsburgh’s first playoff appearance since 2022. Dan Vladar stopped 14 shots to pick up the first postseason win of his six-year career.
Evgeni Malkin scored his 68th career playoff goal for Pittsburgh but the Penguins, the NHL’s third-highest scoring team during the regular season, had trouble sustaining pressure against the Flyers. Bryan Rust pounded home a rebound with 1:01 remaining to get Pittsburgh within a goal, but Vladar stoned Anthony Mantha in the final seconds as Philadelphia held on.
HURRICANES 2, SENATORS 0
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall scored and Frederik Andersen came through with a big third-period performance in net to help Carolina beat Ottawa to open their first-round playoff series.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour had gone with Andersen’s veteran experience as the starter over Brandon Bussi for this one, and it paid off for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
Andersen finished with 22 saves, including back-to-back stops on a third-period power play that had Ottawa buzzing with quality chances. One of those was initially ruled a goal, only for a replay review to overturn the call in showing Andersen had gloved a loose puck as it bounced off his skate near the post.
By the end of the game, Andersen was holding up against Ottawa spending most of the last 2 1/2 minutes with a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling Linus Ullmark from the net with the Senators on the power play.
It was a physical game with hard hits and chippiness throughout, starting with captains Brady Tkachuk of Ottawa and Jordan Staal of Carolina locking up in an immediate fight on the opening faceoff and heading to the box just 3 seconds into the game.
Game 2 is Monday night in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the eighth straight year, reaching the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three years and thrice overall in this current run that began in 2019.
WILD 6, STARS 1
DALLAS (AP) — Matt Boldy had two goals with an assist, Joel Ericksson Ek scored two power-play goals and rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 27 shots in his postseason debut to help Minnesota beat Dallas in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series.
Kirill Kaprizov added a goal and two assists and Mats Zuccarello had three helpers for the Wild, who have lost nine consecutive playoff series since 2015. This was an impressive start in a long-expected matchup of Central Division rivals who finished behind Presidents’ Trophy winner Colorado.
Even though the Stars have made the West final each of the past three seasons, they are 1-7 in Game 1s at home during that span.
Game 2 is Monday night in Dallas.
Dallas allowed the first goal in 15 of its 18 playoff games last year, and gave up three power-play goals in a 5-4 win over the Wild just nine days earlier. The Stars trailed for good only 5 1/2 minutes into the series when Ericksson Ek scored on a pass from Boldy to make it 1-0. Ericksson Ek added another power-play goal past Jake Oettinger in the third.
Kaprizov and Boldy, the first Wild teammates with 40 goals in the same season, scored during a three-goal surge in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second period for a 4-0 lead. Ryan Hartman scored in between, after having the primary assist on Kaprizov’s goal.
MacKinnon to score
Caufield Over 0.5 assists
Pastrnak to score