Penguins Force Game 5 with 4-2 Victory Over Flyers
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each scored goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins avoided a first-round series sweep with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 on Saturday night.
Crosby opened the scoring with a power-play goal just five seconds into a first-period advantage, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. He later added an assist on Letang’s third-period goal that extended the Penguins’ lead to 3-1.
After Garnet Hathaway and Erik Karlsson received coincidental minors at 3:45 of the third period, the teams played four-on-four. Crosby kicked the puck to Letang at the point, and the defenseman walked to the high slot before ripping a shot past Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar at 4:27 to make it 3-1.
The Flyers responded when Travis Konecny scored at 7:03 of the third period to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Penguins goalie Artūrs Šilovs — making his first start of the series — stood tall with 28 saves to secure the victory.
Rickard Rakell also scored for Pittsburgh, pressuring Vladar into a turnover behind the net to make it 2-0 early in the game. Denver Barkey got the Flyers on the board with his first career playoff goal at 15:40 of the second period.
Connor Dewar sealed the win with an empty-netter after Konecny’s goal made it 3-2, finalizing the score at 4-2.
Šilovs was summoned to replace Stuart Skinner, who had posted an .873 save percentage in three losses. Šilovs, who went 19-12-8 during the regular season, made his 11th career playoff start — his previous 10 coming with Vancouver in 2023-24 under coach Rick Tocchet.
Vladar, who had been voted the Bobby Clarke team MVP, remained in net despite suffering an unspecified arm injury in Game 3. He took both days off during the series break and showed no signs of discomfort, but a misplay behind the net only 63 seconds into the second period led to Rakell’s goal.
Following the win, Crosby remarked, “It’s only one, but I think it gives us some life. I think that looked more like our game. And, you know, it’s probably taken us three games to look like ourselves a bit.”
The victory forces a Game 5 in the series, keeping the Penguins’ playoff hopes alive.