Flyers defeat Penguins, advance to second round
The Philadelphia Flyers are heading to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020 after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in overtime of Game 6 on a game-winning goal from defenseman Cam York.
The Flyers avoided becoming the fifth team in NHL history to lose a series after jumping out to a 3-0 lead, as Pittsburgh nearly pushed them to the limit.
Philadelphia took full control of the series from the outset, going into Pittsburgh and emerging victorious in both Games 1 and 2. The Flyers sealed the opener with a third-period tally from rookie Porter Martone that gave them a late two-goal advantage.
Martone struck for the game-winning goal again in Game 2 when he opened the scoring in the second period while goalie Dan Vladar posted a 27-save shutout to take both contests in the Steel City.
When the venue shifted to Xfinity Mobile Arena for Game 3, a tremendously loud crowd powered the home team to a third consecutive win as five different Flyers found the back of the net in an emphatic 5-2 win.
The Penguins had given little reason to believe a comeback was in the cards, but coach Dan Muse turned from Stuart Skinner to Arturs Silovs between the pipes, and the veteran group found its footing in Game 4, as captain Sidney Crosby scored his first of the series and a Connor Dewar empty-net goal clinched a 4-2 win to keep the series alive and set up another game at PPG Paints Arena.
With that game tied 2-2 late in the second, Kris Letang delivered what wound up as the game-winning goal after a solid third-period effort to hold the lead from Silovs and the team’s defense.
That set up Wednesday night’s Game 6, which made it to overtime without either team finding the back of the net until York’s winner, which came after a chance from Porter Martone started a long shift in Pittsburgh’s ends, forcing the Pens to ice the puck. With Pittsbugh’s skaters gassed, the Flyers won the draw, and York ripped a wrister off the post and in for his first career postseason goal.
Vladar was phenomenal in Game 6, as the Penguins carried the majority of play from the start of the third period through most of the overtime period, finishing his night with a 42-save shutout for his second goose egg of the series.
The Flyers will now take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Carolina, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, punched its ticket with a four-game sweep against the Ottawa Senators.