Nearly five months after meeting in the playoffs, the host Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins renew their rivalry on Wednesday as the Keystone State rivals face off in the season opener for the first time since 2021.
The Flyers defeated the Penguins in their first-round series in April, though the six-game showdown was full of drama. Philadelphia won the first three games before dropping two straight, which set up a 1-0 overtime win by the Flyers in Game 6.
The Flyers’ playoff run ultimately ended in the next round with a sweep at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. However, Philadelphia’s first playoff berth since 2020 raised expectations entering this season.
“What happened last year was good,” said captain Sean Couturier, “but we’ve got to do that year after year and have high expectations of ourselves.”
The Flyers made a splash in the offseason by signing young Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a record-setting offer sheet. The Ducks ultimately matched, leaving Philadelphia with largely the same roster as Rick Tocchet enters his second season behind the bench.
“We’ve just got to build on (last season),” Tocchet said. “There’s … a lot of youth, which is good. That means a lot of excitement.”
One of the keys last season was goaltender Dan Vladar, who suffered an upper-body injury last week that leaves his status somewhat in doubt for Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t say he’s 100%, but he’s very hopeful,” said Tocchet, noting that newcomer Joseph Woll will get the nod if Vladar is sidelined.
The Penguins also are dealing with a key injury as Bryan Rust, who scored 29 goals last season, suffered an upper-body injury in the preseason finale and will miss the opener.
“Rusty’s obviously a huge part of our group,” said Penguins coach Dan Muse. “I thought he had a great camp, so it’s unfortunate, but it’s also something you just take it day by day and continue to evaluate.”
Pittsburgh aims to build on last season’s postseason appearance after missing the playoffs in each of the previous three campaigns. The big names on the Penguins’ roster are well-known to hockey fans: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.
“That experience last year was great,” Crosby said. “We were a lot better than people expected, and now there’s a little bit more of an expectation. We’ve got to find a way to elevate again, so that’s kind of the challenge.”
Pittsburgh goaltender Arturs Silovs went 19-12-8 with a 3.07 goals-against average last season and stepped up in a reserve role against Philadelphia in the playoffs, helping the Penguins get back in the series. This season, he is expected to be the team’s No. 1 option in net, with 22-year-old Sergei Murashov opening the season as his backup.
“As you go into this year, you’ve got to keep things somewhat open,” Muse said. “You’ve got to be constantly evaluating, you’ve got to be constantly looking at what’s going to be the best thing for this group. I’ll keep an open mind when it comes to that. Nothing is going to be set in stone.”
The teams split four regular-season matchups a season ago.
–Field Level Media
