Flyers Return Home and Score 5 Goals in Rout of Penguins, Take Commanding 3-0 Series Lead
Apr 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) celebrates his goal with right wing Porter Martone (94) against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The last playoff hockey game was played in Philadelphia eight years ago. Now, playoff hockey is back in South Philadelphia, and the Flyers gave a sold-out Xfinity Mobile Arena a lot to cheer about.
The Flyers won their first playoff game at home since April 20, 2016, scoring five goals and fueling the intensity of all the fans in the building, giving them a 5-2 win in Game 3 against the Penguins and putting them one win away from a sweep into the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The second period was the defining factor for the Flyers all night, with them scoring three goals and taking full control of the game afterwards after falling behind 1-0. They showed their aggressiveness, and after an 11-minute delay to figure out who was going into the penalty box, the Flyers took off right after.
Coming off his first career postseason shutout and first Flyers shutout, Daniel Vladar played excellently once again. Battling through injury, he saved 28 out of 30 Penguins shots and helped kill off three Pittsburgh power plays.
The Flyers showed their physicality in the first period, and they got the crowd going, which was what they needed, but they still ended down 1-0. After Sean Couturier went into the box early for tripping, Evgeni Malkin silenced the crowd early by giving the Penguins their first lead of the series on the power play to make it 1-0.
It took until halfway through the first period to get the crowd rolling again, with Garnet Hathaway and Couturier laying big hits on Samuel Girard and Kris Letang, which also woke up the Flyers. They started to turn the momentum and kept adding pressure in the Pittsburgh zone, while continuing to put up shots on goal. They played with much more energy at the end of the first period and had many chances to tie it, but nothing came of it.
One last thing in the period was watching Sidney Crosby get tapped on the facemask by Hathaway and flop over like he just fell down a flight of stairs. After Hathaway was sent to the box for high-sticking, Crosby was sent right after him for embellishment, after the boos serenaded down on the refs.
And then, my oh my oh my, what a second period for the Flyers. They took all the energy they gained for the previous period, and turned it into three goals, a boatload of penalties, and by the end, a 3-1 lead.
After Travis Konecny’s chance was saved by Stuart Skinner, Bryan Rust just went after him and tackled him to the ground for absolutely no reason. That started a huge scuffle that sent 10 combined players to the penalty box and a stoppage of over 11 minutes. Konecny took off his gloves and wanted to fight Rust, but he ended up backing out.
The Flyers ended up getting a power play out of it, and took full advantage with Trevor Zegras scoring on a deep shot and then racing over to the penalty box to celebrate with his teammates who were trapped in the box.
The Penguins got another power play after Nick Seeler was caught for cross-checking, and after the Flyers killed it off, Rasmus Ristolainen answered, sniping a shot from the boards that Skinner let slip right through the five-hole, giving the Flyers the lead.
Just two minutes later, Nick Seeler got in on all the action, sniping another deep shot, which boosted the Flyers’ lead to two. And after all of that, the period ended with a 3-1 Flyers lead.
That was the most entertaining period of Flyers hockey all season. Chaotic, aggressive, and loud.
Vladar was getting his work in during the third period, specifically the start of the period when the Penguins kept creating chances in the Flyers’ zone. He started off by losing his skate blade early, which ended Pittsburgh’s control, and saved another shot, and gave everyone a little scare after being in some pain when his hand got rolled over. Vladar remained in the game.
The Flyers could not stay at 5-on-5 at all, going to the penalty kill three times in the third period. After the Flyers killed off the first penalty, Matvei Michkov got another stupid penalty after starting a useless commotion and heading into the box. That came to hurt them as Erik Karlsson converted on the man advantage, slimming the Flyers’ lead down to one.
After the goal, the Flyers went to the power play after Anthony Mantha shot the puck out of play. They took advantage after Skinner made some fantastic saves. Noah Cates got a hold of a pass from Zegras, which he slotted right in the net to give the Flyers the two-goal lead back.
Pittsburgh pulled Skinner with three minutes left, and the Flyers’ defense did their job, with them being able to clear the puck and Owen Tippett scoring the empty-net goal, scoring the dagger and giving the Flyers the 5-2 win. Porter Martone and Ben Kindel got into another confrontation to end it as the victory horn rang.
The Flyers will have a chance to complete a sweep on Saturday night at home. Game 4 is scheduled for an 8:00 PM EST puck drop in what will be another raucous Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Andrew Glover
Andrew is in his first year covering sports for Philly Sports Reports. He is a podcaster and a digital content creator. Right now, he is in his second semester at Temple University pursuing a degree in Media Studies and Production. He has a certificate in Broadcast Journalism from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
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