Entering the season, few expected the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers to be participants in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But each member of one of the NHL’s most enduring rivalries will be playing meaningful hockey in the next handful of days.
After claiming a 3-2 home shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, the Flyers secured third place in the Metropolitan Division. And with that, they will face the second-place Penguins in the first round of the postseason.
A schedule has yet to be announced. The Penguins are scheduled to finish their regular-season schedule with a road contest against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
During the regular season, the team tangled in four games, with each squad winning twice. Both of the Flyers’ wins came in shootouts.
Oct. 28 — Flyers 3, Penguins 2 (shootout)
Dec. 1 — Penguins 5, Flyers 1
Jan. 15 — Penguins 6, Flyers 3
March 7 — Flyers 4, Penguins 3 (shootout)
With each entering the NHL in 1967, the Penguins and Flyers have met in the postseason seven times throughout the history of the so-called Battle of Pennsylvania.
1989Patrick Division final — Flyers 4, Penguins 3
1997Eastern Conference quarterfinal — Flyers 4, Penguins 1
2000Eastern Conference semifinal — Flyers 4, Penguins 2
2008Eastern Conference final — Penguins 5, Flyers 1
2009Eastern Conference quarterfinal — Penguins 4, Flyers 2
2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinal — Flyers 4, Penguins 2
2018 Eastern Conference first round — Penguins 4, Flyers 2