Most Pittsburgh Penguins fans can’t tolerate rewatching Cam York’s series-ending overtime goal for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Meanwhile, it sounds like Penguins rookie Ben Kindel can’t stop replaying it in his mind.
“I’m still kind of sick to my stomach thinking about that last shift and how the season ended,” Kindel said during the team’s locker cleanout Friday afternoon.
Anyone who supports the Penguins is also probably getting a little nauseous thinking about it right now.
Overtime. Scoreless tie. Game 6 in Philadelphia. The Penguins were facing elimination, down 3-2 in the series.
Kindel’s line had been pinned in its own end, enduring an extended Philadelphia attack. Gassed from a long shift, Kindel fired the puck down the rink for an icing violation when it appeared he had more time to perhaps make a play and clear the zone.
Now, entirely gassed, Kindel and his linemates had to stay on the ice for the ensuing faceoff. Kindel lost it, went down to the ice in the process, and scrambled back to his skates.
Even though Kindel got himself back into the play, Matvei Michkov moved the puck easily to York. He shot through traffic, and it went in the net. Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs was beaten for the first time all night. The Penguins lost the game and the series.
THE FLYERS ARE MOVING ON ????
Cam York buries the game-winner in Game 6 to eliminate the Penguins ???? pic.twitter.com/lys1uhM3iu
— ESPN (@espn) April 30, 2026
“Nothing I can do about it now but use it as motivation in the future to do whatever we can to not let it end like that again,” Kindel added.
Last year’s 11th overall pick admitted that his mistake on the icing was more a matter of mental fatigue than it was physical exhaustion.
“Trying to make decisions, everything happened so fast ,” Kindel replied. “I’m not sure if that was the right play at that moment. Just the way the shift was going, just trying to maybe settle everything down. But looking back, yeah, it didn’t go our way. Just looking to use that in the future.”
Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon was one of those who rushed to Kindel’s defense.
“He laid his body on the line blocking shots to save a couple before they iced it,” Wotherspoon said.
“He’s well beyond his years. Everyone in their career has some bad shifts. But I wouldn’t worry about him. He had (17) goals at 18. He carries himself high. He’s going to be OK. He’s got a lot of room to grow. I don’t think anyone is going to fault him for that shift.”
Kindel also acknowledged that the entire playoff series was a lot of baptism by fire. Over the six games against the Flyers, Kindel was held without a point. He was minus-4, managing just nine shots on goal.
Now, Kindel knows what to expect in the future.
“In the playoffs, just learning to play in high-stakes games, the physicality of it,” Kindel said. “The speed, the pacing to play. All the intensity is higher, and everything just gets raised. And then just trying to raise your game to another level in the playoffs, it’s going to be key.”
To Wotherspoon’s point, though, Kindel just turned 19 after Game 1 of the series (April 19). Exposure to postseason hockey at such an early age will do nothing but benefit Kindel in the long run.
Veteran defenseman Kris Letang can speak to that. As a 20-year-old, Letang played in 16 playoff games during the 2008 run to the Stanley Cup Final against Detroit. He posted just two assists along the way.
A year later, Letang notched four goals and nine assists to help the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in a rematch over the Red Wings.
“When you step in the playoffs for the first time, it’s kind of a shock, especially for a guy who is 18 years old. He sees the level of the game rising so high,” Letang said. “At the beginning of the series, you could see that he was like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s another level.’ He got more comfortable, and he played better and better. So if you get that under your belt, and you go from there. There’s so much more you can work on and improve during this off-season. It’s just good learning.”
Kindel’s coach, Dan Muse, believes the young forward is the type of player who responds well to negative reinforcement.
“You learn more as a young player from some of those times when things don’t go your way,” Muse said. “That’s something that has really stood out to me about (Kindel) all year. He has taken those times when things haven’t gone well, and he’s had a response to them. He’s grown, and he has gotten better because of it.”
Based on the number of times Kindel seems to be replaying those last few moments of overtime against the Flyers, that’s exactly what he is trying to teach himself in this case.
At some point soon, though, it may be time to turn off the film, drink some Pepto-Bismol, and give his stomach a break.