They didn’t take the easy route, nearly coughing up a two-goal lead with just over a minute to go but in the end, the Philadelphia Flyers took Game 1 with an impressive 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins to take the series lead one game to none.
Winger Porter Martone played his first playoff game, and got his first goal. To put icing on the already lovely cake thus far, it was the game-winner. Martone told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan immediately after the game he wanted to have an impact with the club on his arrival.
“Yeah I think just how hard this group has worked, you know a lot longer before I came here,” he said. “You know this was their goal to make the playoffs, and I kind of came in here with about two weeks left. I just wanted to come in and make a splash and right now that we’re here we’re not going to stop. So it’s been awesome.”
Martone was visible most of the night, but his rocket over Stuart Skinner to give Philadelphia a 3-1 lead was ridiculous: bar down and with no chance for the Penguins netminder. “Yeah it was a pretty cool one,” he said. “On the road in front of these fans, you know, to win the game. It was pretty special. So it’s a huge win for us. We’re go to reset tomorrow and get ready for the next big one.”
MARTY PARTY HARD. #PHIvsPIT | #IgniteTheOrange pic.twitter.com/OFss5fPrej
— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 19, 2026
Porter Martone reflects on impressive Game 1 performance
The winger said he was also energized by the crowd at PPG Paints Arena, despite most of them naturally cheering for their hometown club. “Honestly it was crazy, coming out for warm-ups, and seeing the arena fully sold out, I’ve never seen that before,” Martone said. “But I think we embraced it and kind of fed off that energy. (later) It’s a huge win for our group.”
Martone, who played 15:47, had the game-winner, was a +2 and had three hits, become the first teenaged player to score in his playoff debut since Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov did it back in 2019. Given just how composed, relaxed, and cool he looked from start to finish, it’s safe to assume it won’t be the last one Martone will bury this series.
Young guys helped by older guys, and vice versa
Prior to the game, and on Friday, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet stressed the Flyers playing their first playoff game in their lives shouldn’t do too much. Instead they should rely on just being themselves and playing how they’ve played the last six weeks of the season. But for the rookies and youngsters like Martone, Denver Barkey, Matvei Michkov, and Tyson Foerster, veterans like Luke Glendening, Travis Konecny, and Sean Couturier were able to put them at ease or shake any butterflies they might have had.
Porter Martone on how the young guys prepared for this game: “The older guys are doing a great job with not just me, but all the other guys on the team. But it's nice to have other younger guys b/c you're around the same age. We’re all pretty excited going to this game.”
— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) April 19, 2026
Cont: “Being able to play in the playoffs, for me, is pretty special. It's an opportunity that, you can't pass up. Just gotta get some experience in every game, and know you're gonna get better.” https://t.co/rFji3omQVl
— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) April 19, 2026
The fact the Flyers were able to get such a strong effort across all four lines, while limiting Pittsburgh to just 17 shots, has to be a huge confidence boost for Philadelphia. The worst case scenario heading back to Philadelphia now is home-ice advantage after splitting the first two games. However, seeing how tight defensively the Flyers were, and being able to frustrate Sidney Crosby as much as they did, they have a strong chance of taking both games on the road.
The victory was the second road playoff win for the Flyers in Pittsburgh after the club defeated the Penguins in Game 5 of the 2018 first-round playoff series 4-2.
