The eighth chapter in the playoff history between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins is about to be written. The Flyers have won four of the first seven series, but also lost three of the last four. The last time the two teams met was in 2018, when the Penguins took out Philadelphia in six games. Gritty was still an idea among some in the Flyers organization, and Shayne Gostisbehere was the team’s most offensive defenseman. It’s been a long time
However, the rosters of both clubs are vastly different, aside from the fact the Penguins are still heavily relying on an aging trio (or quartet) of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson to lead them to the promise land. But without going into how many Penguins are close to receiving old age pensions, let’s make three bold predictions for this upcoming series. They are in no particular order, and there might be one or two real bizarre notions. Yet, here they are.
Flyers’ fourth line will play a huge role
Philadelphia’s fourth line most of the season was a work in progress, looking as if duct tape was keeping it together and with no real solutions to make it work. Nic Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols, and Garnet Hathaway had no offensive upside, and basically were life and death to keep opponents from scoring on them. It was bad. Since the Olympic break, and especially with the waiver claim acquisition of Luke Glendening, this line has picked things up in a big way. They are defensively sound, they can create a little bit more offense, but most importantly they are not afraid to play the body.
A seven-game series is a war of attrition, with the constantly hard, heavy hits almost required to succeed. Luke Glendening fits that style quite well, Sean Couturier somehow has found a second wind in the middle of the fourth line, and Garnet Hathaway was made for this type of series.
The more effective this line is in making the Pens blueline a nightmare, the better the Flyers’ chances are of simply wearing down and wearing out this aging defensive group. Pittsburgh youngest blueliner is Ilya Sololov at 25. Letang is 38, Karlsson is 35, Samuel Girard is 27, while Ryan Graves and Connor Clifton are both 30. Lots of experience? Sure. Lots of miles on them? Definitely. By comparison the Flyers’ elder statesman on the blueline is Nick Seeler who is 32. Emil Andrae, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale are all 25 or under.
If Hathaway can lay a few devastating hits on opponents this series like he did a few times over the regular season, it should bode well for Philadelphia.
Dan Vladar will get into Sidney Crosby’s head
The nauseating narrative some will dole out will be how Sidney Crosby has owned the Flyers since the beginning of time. Crosby has had success against the Flyers throughout his career, and always seems to end up with multi-point games against them. However, it’s probably safe to say the Penguins have not faced a Flyers team that has made the defensive zone so unwelcoming in recent memory. They don’t give up a lot of shots, they generally keep the high-danger chances to a minimum, and don’t spend a lot of time in their own zone hemmed in.
This should result in Dan Vladar getting into the Penguins’ collective head the longer the series goes on. It’s doubtful Pittsburgh will be stymied completely the way the Flyers were against Ottawa back in 2001-02 where Philadelphia scored two goals over five games (yes, they did win one game 1-0). But the longer Vladar can shut down the big names of the Penguins, the more Pittsburgh should get flustered. That can only help the Flyers, who are going in most likely as the underdogs to the almighty Sid and Geno.
Vladar surprised and shut up a lot of people with the regular season, one many thought he was not capable of. Don’t be surprised he can still do that when it matters most.
Michkov and Martone will score more than Crosby and Malkin
The Flyers will have a number of their forwards (and a few defensemen) playing their first playoff game this weekend. They could have that deer in the headlights opener, much like happened in 2017-18 when the Penguins destroyed Philadelphia in Game 1 7-0. It probably won’t happen, but it’s possible.
However, the Flyers duo of Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone could end up with more points than the dynamic Hall of Fame tandem of Crosby and Malkin. Both Michkov and Martone are playing extremely well regardless of who they’re facing. Martone had 10 points in his brief stint at year’s end, an incredibly impressive amount. And Michkov found his scoring touch at best time possible, finding almost instant chemistry with either Denver Barkey or Alex Bump on his other side.
If the youngsters (Martone, Michkov, and Trevor Zegras all come to mind) can get under the skin of the Penguins, the better the chances will be of Philadelphia making this a longer series than anticipated. And possibly an upset (if two teams tied with 98 points makes one a distinct underdog).
Martone and Michkov will have to adhere to Tocchet’s “walk the line” mantra when it comes to staying disciplined but needling opponents. If both of them can do that, there might be two of the key pieces in a Flyers victory in the first round. Again, if the nerves are visible in game one, it doesn’t mean the rest of the series will be the same storyline. However, if Michkov and Martone can hit the ground running and get a point or two in the opening period, it should put Pittsburgh on their heels a bit more, especially before a home crowd that is clinging to some delusional, dying pipe dream of Stanley Cup success.
