PHILADELPHIA – The Pittsburgh Penguins know exactly what the Philadelphia Flyers are all about.

Chaos is their brand as much as their garish orange jerseys.

And despite possessing a full realization of how their most enduring rival will go about their business, the Penguins look completely overwhelmed by the Flyers’ tactics in their first-round playoff series.

As a result, the Penguins are on the verge of getting swept out of the opening round following a maelstrom of a 5-2 loss in Game 3 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Game 4 is scheduled at the same venue Saturday.

While both teams failed to display much composure Wednesday, the Flyers managed to channel the anarchy they created into a spirited comeback.

As for the Penguins, they are looking for answers.

Particularly from the officials.

During Wednesday’s contest, a near line brawl broke out on the ice that resulted in roughing minors for all 10 non-goaltenders on the ice. Penguins forward Bryan Rust, who was at the center of the fracas, incurred an extra roughing minor that resulted in a power-play opportunity for the Flyers, who scored a game-tying goal on the ensuing sequence and never looked back.

The Penguins weren’t shy of questioning referees Jake Brenk and Francois St. Laurent, as well as linespersons C.J. Murray and Jonny Murray.

“There’s a scrum there and we get the extra penalty,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “That changed everything. And it took a long time to get it all sorted out. … I’m not going to be here making excuses. There’s plenty here that we can do better.

“That definitely factored into the feel of that period and the game.”

An NHL spokesperson declined a request for a pool reporter to speak with a series supervisor of officials to clarify how the penalties were determined.

In total, 50 minutes in penalties were issued, with the Flyers holding a 28-22 advantage.

Of greater significance, the Flyers hold an advantage in the series that appears all too daunting for the Penguins.

In the first 108 years of the NHL’s existence, only four teams have overcome a 0-3 deficit to win a postseason series.

As it happens, Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner came close to being part of the fifth team to pull off that type of miraculous rebound on the biggest stage possible within the NHL.

As a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Skinner helped his team fight back from a 3-0 deficit against the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. While the Oilers ultimately lost Game 7, Skinner finds inspiration in that moment.

And at this moment, the Penguins need anything they can to moor their hopes against.

“I feel like when you go down 3-0, what really helped me in my experience was it kind of just frees you up,” Skinner said. “You don’t really have anything to lose. And we’re in a spot where we don’t have anything to lose, and they do.

“If we catch them a couple times — just talking about momentum — you can change momentum and when that happens, things can go in your favor.”

Wednesday’s game largely started in the Penguins’ favor as they took their first lead of the series with their first power-play score of the series as forward Evgeni Malkin found his team-best second goal of the postseason 4:18 into regulation.

Accepting a pass above Philadelphia’s right circle, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby drifted backwards a bit towards the near boards before sending a seam pass below the opposite circle. From there, Penguins forward Bryan Rust one-touched the puck across the front of the crease for Malkin, who leaned down on his left knee and chopped in a forehand shot off of goaltender Dan Vladar’s left skate and into the cage. Rust and Crosby had assists.

The Penguins were 0 for 7 on the power play in the first two games of the series.

Things got particularly heated at 18:47 of the first period when Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway and Crosby each earned two-minute trips to the penalty box.

As the teams lined up for a faceoff in Philadelphia’s right circle, Hathaway was skating past the dot and twirled his stick behind his back, striking Crosby in the face. Crosby went down to the ice in a pronounced fashion, prompting a bevy of boos and four-letter verbs.

St. Laurent issued minor penalties to Hathaway (high sticking) and Crosby (embellishment) after the sequence.

While Hathaway declined to comment, Crosby was brief in explaining his perspective on the matter.

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“I don’t know how I end up with embellishment,” Crosby said. “Yeah, it’s hard to understand, but you’ve got to play through it.”

Muse spoke volumes.

“We don’t have a single embellishment all year,” Muse said. “Sidney Crosby doesn’t have an embellishment in 21 seasons. So, the stick’s in his face. They take both of them. I disagree on that strongly. Not one, not one for our team all season. So, we didn’t come into this series to start now. The guys have done a good job with that. And Sid doesn’t embellish.”

Another even more chaotic scene unfolded at 4:33 of the second period when the 10-man skirmish broke out. After Skinner froze a puck, Rust became enraged with Flyers forward Travis Konecny for swinging his right elbow at his head, touching off a brawl.

After officials took roughly 10 minutes of real time to sort out who did what and issued roughing minors to 10 players (including a second infraction to Rust), the Flyers wound up with a power-play chance.

“I kind of locked him up,” Rust said. “Took him to the ground. He tried to kick me. Threw a couple of punches back and forth. Not sure why I got the extra two (minutes).”

Joining Rust in the penalty box were Penguins defensemen Sam Girard, Erik Karlsson and Ryan Shea, as well as forward Connor Dewar. Taking up residence in the home penalty box were Konecny, as well as forwards Christian Dvorak and Matvei Michkov, along with defensemen Travis Sanheim and Cam York.

“I didn’t do anything,” Karlsson said. “They just decided to take everybody who was on the ice, which I’ve never seen in my 17 years (in the NHL). It’s unfortunate. It benefited them more than it benefited us. I don’t think that’s a question for me because I don’t fully understand what just happened.”

Flyers forward Trevor Zegras converted with his first goal at the 5:18 mark on the ensuing man-advantage opportunity.

Settling a puck at the left point of the Penguins’ zone, former Erie Otters defenseman Jamie Drysdale coolly slid a pass to the top of the right circle, where Zegras wound up and cranked a one-timer past Skinner’s glove on the near side. Drysdale and rookie forward Porter Martone merited assists.

A few minutes after the Penguins failed to convert on another power-play scenario, the Flyers took their first lead of the contest at 9:18 of the second period via an unlikely source when defenseman Rasmus Ristoalainen, a 13-year veteran in the postseason for the first time, scored his first career playoff goal.

Claiming a loose puck in the Penguins’ left circle, Flyers defenseman Noah Juulsen darted to the near corner then fed a cross-ice pass to Ristolainen above the right circle. Lumbering below the dot, Ristolainen fired a seemingly pedestrian wrister that glanced off of Skinner’s stick and through his five hole. Juulsen and forward Sean Couturier collected assists.

Nick Seeler, another Flyers defenseman known more for his defensive game than his offensive contributions, scored his first career playoff goal at 11:18 of the second frame.

Accepting a pass at the left point of the offensive zone, Seeler surveyed for a shooting lane, then pumped a wrister through traffic and past Skinner’s glove on the far side. Once again, Juulsen and Couturier claimed assists.

Karlsson’s first goal of the postseason came 9:39 into the third period during another power-play opportunity.

Taking a pass in the right corner of Philadelphia’s zone, Penguins forward Rickard Rakell slid the puck to the high slot, where Karlsson cracked a one-timer. Vladar, who appeared to injure his blocker (left) hand a few minutes earlier, got a piece of the puck with the blocker but allowed it to trickle into the cage. Rakell and forward Tommy Novak negotiated assists.

Any notion of a comeback by the visitors was euthanized at 12:30 of the third period when Flyers forward Noah Cates scored his first goal with a dazzling move near the crease and a wrister past Skinner’s blocker. Zegras and Drysdale had assists.

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Flyers forward Owen Tippett capped the scoring with his first goal on an empty net at 18:48 of the third off an assist from Cates.

The Flyers stuck with what they do and staked out a commanding lead in the series.

“The game turned into a bit of a WWE match in the second period,” Rust said. “They fed off that and they were able to capitalize.”

Skinner stopped 24 of 28 shots as his record fell to 0-3 in the postseason.

Regardless, Skinner professed resolve in the face of overwhelming odds.

He came close to beating those odds once.

“This is the group that can definitely come back from this deficit,” Skinner said. “I certainly believe that. I’ve personally done it to be able to go to Game 7. You know it’s possible.

“Statistics are fun to look at, but it doesn’t mean they’re always right.”

Notes:

• Penguins defensemen Ryan Graves, Ilya Solovyov and Jack St. Ivany, as well as forwards Kevin Hayes and Elmer Soderblom were healthy scratches.

• Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae was scratched for the second consecutive games due to an undisclosed injury.