As you prepare for the Pennsylvania derby, gird your loins via refreshing Penguins notes and keep your head on a swivel. It’s going to be that kind of series.
• Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said his Flyers will “go after” Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. Some interpret that as a death threat or, at the least, a call to mayhem. But it’s just the playoffs. Finish checks on the opposition’s good players. The Penguins will do the same with Trevor Zegras, etc.
• A wild card in that regard is Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, a headhunter in the Jacob Trouba mold. Trouba concussed Crosby with a high hit in 2022, sidelining Crosby for Game 6 of a first-round series the Penguins lost to the New York Rangers in seven games. Ristolainen is a dangerous meathead.
• Flyers goalie Dan Vladar is 6-foot-5. His goals-against average of 2.42 ranked third in the NHL. But is Vladar good, or just big? Does he make saves, or get hit?
• Putting pucks in Vladar’s skates might make impact. It’s a problem, like for most big goalies. Vladar can’t always find the puck. Here’s betting Crosby scores from behind the goal line within the first two games.
• Vladar has never made a playoff start. But while Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner helped get Edmonton to the last two Stanley Cup finals, he gave way several times during those postseasons to backup Calvin Pickard. Skinner’s biggest quality isn’t playoff experience. It’s that he’s not Tristan Jarry. If Jarry hadn’t been ditched in the trade that brought Skinner from the Oilers, the Penguins wouldn’t be in the playoffs. Jarry is rotten, as his save percentage of .858 since joining Edmonton confirms.
• I still wish Sergei Murashov was in goal. But that wasn’t the plan. I’m not all that concerned about Wilkes-Barre/Scranton making a playoff run in the American Hockey League.
• Not sure how much Penguins coach Dan Muse will embrace matchups. But putting Crosby’s line against Zegras’ line might frustrate the Flyers’ twitchy star by way of making him play defense.
• Watch out for Flyers second-year winger Matvei Michkov. Tocchet gradually coaxed more effort and consistency from the mercurial Michkov via tough love, with Michkov scoring in each of the Flyers’ last three games. He’s got the tools. Tocchet is helping Michkov build a toolbox.
• Crosby will open the series with Bryan Rust and Egor Chinakhov on his wings, not Rust and Rickard Rakell. Chinakhov’s burst and style makes Crosby attack more off the rush. That’s good. But it mirrors and feeds into the Flyers’ preferred style, which has brought them great success since the Olympics break.
• It appears Elmer Soderblom will supplant Justin Brazeau on the third line. Brazeau has scored just five times since November, no goals in his last seven games. Soderblom has five goals in 20 games since joining the Penguins after a trade with Detroit, four goals in his last nine games. But Brazeau has good chemistry with Anthony Mantha on the opposite wing. It’s a dicey call.
• Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar have been hurt but were full participants in Thursday’s practice and seem a good bet for Game 1. That’s big for the fourth line and penalty-kill. Every team pays lip service to rolling four lines, but the Penguins mostly really do, and that’s helped the older stars via less minutes. (Lizotte’s return will be a huge help with face-offs, too.)
• The Penguins’ special teams dropped out of the NHL’s top five after both residing there most of the season. The power play finished seventh (24.1% success rate), the penalty-kill sixth (81.4%). That’s no real concern. But the biggest special-teams worry might be allowing short-handed goals. The Penguins conceded 12, second-most in the NHL, and the Flyers have speed on the PK led by Owen Tippett (three shorties). Malkin has to be careful. He can be a liability in that regard.
• Crosby has always dominated the Flyers. But here’s betting that defenseman Erik Karlsson takes over this series. Karlsson deservedly got the Penguins’ team MVP and has been consistently splendid. He’ll play quarterback. Everybody else will run routes.
• At 18, Ben Kindel has had a long, demanding season. Not sure how much he has left in the tank. But when the puck drops for Game 1, Kindel won’t even be a little bit scared. He is a serious young man.
• The Flyers won six of their last seven. They had to. The Penguins lost their last three games. They could. If the Flyers have any momentum or the Penguins have any negative residue, it will quickly dissipate. The playoffs are different.