Flyers Fail To Close Out Penguins For Second Straight Game in Game 5, Force Game 6 Wednesday
Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Elmer Soderblom (right) celebrates his goal with center Ben Kindel (81) and right wing Anthony Mantha (39) against Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Penguins are sending the first round of the playoffs back to Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh has won two straight games, taking Game 5 3-2, and they have shaved off elimination again, sending this series to Game 6, where the Flyers will have another chance to clinch in front of their home crowd.
It was just a really rough night for the Flyers. They looked exhausted and did not execute on specific fundamentals. The crowd in Pittsburgh was energetic right from puck drop, and they held on to that energy until the final whistle.
It was also a new lineup for the Flyers on Monday. After they changed their lines during practice on Sunday, it was official in Game 5. Tyson Forester was moved to the third line, Denver Barkey was moved to the first line, and Alex Bump made his playoff debut with Matvei Michkov being a healthy scratch after his playoff struggles.
Bump was the best player on the ice in his playoff debut, scoring a goal and providing excellent defense late in the game, keeping the Flyers in it.
The Flyers opened the game with a lot of pressure, and it felt like they were going to break through early, but it was ultimately the Penguins who jumped on an early chance and scored within the first three minutes. Elmer Soderblom scored the first goal of the game for Pittsburgh off an aggressive forecheck and dump-in. It’s the third game this series that the Penguins have scored first in the first period.
Also, in the first minute of the game, Evgeni Malkin flipped the puck into the Flyers’ bench for literally no reason, which had coach Rick Tocchet and the Flyers irate.
Every time the Penguins got into the Flyers’ zone, it was scary. The Flyers had some issues clearing the puck, which led to multiple Pittsburgh shots that could’ve made it 2, even 3-0 super early. If it wasn’t for Daniel Vladar, the Flyers would probably be losing by more. He made some fantastic saves in the opening period. One of the Pittsburgh shots bounced off Emil Andrae and nearly trickled into the net.
The Flyers put on more pressure late into the period, but still couldn’t break through. Trevor Zegras missed the puck on a breakaway and let it go past him. They consistently missed the net, shooting 11 times in the first. The Flyers had more puck possession, but the Penguins were the more physical team. The Flyers had their chances, and they missed.
The Penguins started the second with a very long shift in which the Flyers were on the ice for over two minutes as they struggled to clear the puck in their zone. That led to both Cam York and Jamie Drysdale being exhausted and trapped, and a failed clear by Owen Tippett led to Connor Dewar’s shot just sneaking over the net, but enough for it to count as a goal, which doubled Pittsburgh’s lead.
Six seconds later, Bump scored his first playoff goal in his own individual effort, skating right through the Pittsburgh defense, which cut the lead down to one again. Bump has scored his first career NHL goal in Pittsburgh and his first career playoff goal in Pittsburgh.
After Erik Karlsson had to trip Travis Konecny to avoid a breakaway, the Flyers were back on the power play and had a great opportunity to tie the game, but the struggling Forester had a chance, and his shot went wide. The power play continued to hurt the Flyers once again, twice in both the first and second periods.
But the Flyers would soon tie it just a few minutes later. Travis Sanheim’s shot went off of Karlsson’s stick, and he slipped one through traffic to make it 2-2. A minute later, the Penguins regained that lead. The Penguins got a weird bounce off the board, and Vladar thought he had saved it, putting his hands up, and he didn’t realize the puck was behind him. In fact, it shouldn’t have even been a goal, as the broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia showed Luke Glendening’s helmet being ripped off during that shift. That is usually a roughing penalty, and the official is clearly looking at the two. Nonetheless, they still called the goal a goal.
The Penguins created one more chance late in the period, with Sanheim having to stop trouble on a transition from Anthony Mantha. Then everyone slid into Vladar, and a scuffle broke out, and yet no penalties were called. Mantha was the one who clearly started the penalty, and yet there were no calls once again from the refs.
The third period began with another aggressive Pittsburgh push, but leave it up to Vladar again. A fantastic save from him kept the score the same, and if the Penguins score that, it gets a lot harder for the Flyers after.
The Flyers just really couldn’t get anything going this period. Bad passes and missed shots were a key factor in why they could not score one bit. With two minutes left, Vladar was pulled, and the Flyers still created chances but to no avail. Bump saved an empty-net goal to keep them in, and Porter Martone had a really good shot but was saved by Arutrs Silovs.
Tocchet called his timeout, but it wasn’t enough as the Penguins were able to hold on, giving them the 3-2 win.
Game 6 returns to Philadelphia Wednesday night, and the Flyers will have a chance to clinch in front of their home crowd. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST, and can be viewed on TNT and NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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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