What Can Penguins Do to Turn Series Around Against Flyers?

Apr 18, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) moves the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the dance. It’s the Keystone State Clash in Round 1, as Pittsburgh drew its cross-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Going into Monday night’s Game 2, the Flyers lead the series 1-0, so how can the Penguins flip the scoreboard?

It’s hard to look at the first game and point out anything the Penguins did well in the series opener.

Even the guys who seem like they have never had a bad game, like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, weren’t exactly noticeable, despite Malkin’s goal. However, there are some specific areas the team could vastly improve on as the series continues.

Penguins Must Get to the Center of the Ice

The Flyers are a heavily defensive-focused team. They hired Rick Tocchet this past offseason, and there are few in the game who coach a defensive team better than the former Penguin and Flyer.

A staple of Tocchet’s defensive system is forcing the other team against the boards when they try to enter Philadelphia’s zone. Pittsburgh played right into Philadelphia’s hands. It seemed as though the Penguins had the puck glued to the boards on every zone entry, making any sustained pressure or build-up play nearly impossible.

The inability to create chances led to just 17 shots on goal for the Pens. If the Penguins are going to win this series, they need goals. They won’t get many if they can’t even get into the Flyers’ zone.

Discipline Needed from the Top Guys

On the stat sheet for Game 1, it shows the Penguins took five penalties and served 10 minutes in the box. Those numbers don’t tell the full story, however. Eight of the 10 penalty minutes were served by either Crosby or Anthony Mantha. That’s Pittsburgh’s top goal-scorer and top point-getter taking themselves off the ice and leaving the team a man down.

The top guys, especially the veterans with playoff experience and who have lifted the cup before, need to show discipline. This is especially true for Crosby, who uncharacteristically seemed to let the Flyers’ antics get to him in game one.

The biggest offensive contributors taking themselves off the ice multiple times a game is a surefire way to turn the tide in the opponent’s favor.

In saying all this, the Penguins need not shy away from being physical either. Bang up the enemy a little bit, but do it within the confines of the rule book.

Time to Nix the Girard-Letang Pairing?

Since being acquired in a midseason move from the Colorado Avalanche, defenseman Samuel Girard has been underwhelming in his short time as a Penguin, to say the least. To acquire Girard, the Penguins sent away another defenseman, Brett Kulak. Kulak is more of a shutdown defenseman, while Girard focuses on the offensive end, like his partner, Kris Letang.

Even at the time of the trade, the move didn’t make much sense. Trading away an offensive defenseman’s shutdown partner to pair him with another offensive defenseman doesn’t sound too ideal, and it looks even worse now.

In game one, the pairing of Letang and Girard generated an expected goals for percentage (xGF%) of just 2.6%. xGF% is a stat that shows what percentage of the expected goals a player, a line/pairing, or a team generated while they were on the ice. This means that, while Letang and Girard were on the ice together, just 2.6% of all expected goals generated were in favor of Pittsburgh.

Head Coach Dan Muse may need to consider scraping the pair. But, with plenty of hockey left to be played, he shouldn’t scramble to make a move too soon.

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