Flyers

I Have Confidence that the Philadelphia Flyers Will Defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Apr 27th, 2026 · 10:49 PM EDT

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The Flyers lost Game 5 to the Penguins on Monday night, final score 3-2. They gave up the first goal as they always do, battled back to tie the game at 2, then a really stupid carom hit off Dan Vladar’s leg and ended up being the game winner:

LETANG'S SHOT GOES OFF THE GLASS BEHIND THE NET, OFF VLADAR AND INTO THE NET 😱

PENS LEAD AGAIN 🫨 pic.twitter.com/369sYgOky8

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 28, 2026

“It’s an unfortunate bounce, to be honest with you,” Vladar said postgame. “You can always do something better on every single goal, doesn’t matter if it’s a bounce off the boards or a 2v1 breakaway, you can always do something better. But yeah, they got that bounce and they were the happier team today.”

Fluke type of play. Really deflating. They had scored a few minutes earlier with a bruising forecheck and an incredible shift to keep the puck in the Yinzer zone, which led to Travis Sanheim knocking the equalizer in off Erik Karlsson’s stick.

It wasn’t their best performance, nor was it their worst. You take a break after this game, maybe go outside and smoke a cigarette or vape or whatever the kids do these days, and then you pause and remember that this Flyers team just barely clawed their way into the playoffs. To think they’d just cruise past the Penguins with ease is folly. These Yinzer scumbags are fighting like hell to keep alive a series we thought the Flyers might win in 6 or 7, and here are are.

The Flyers gotta come out with some real jam in the 1st period and get the home crowd going on Wednesday night. Do that, and they’ll get it done in Game 6. This Pittsburgh team didn’t roll over and die, but they’re also not the 1997 Detroit Red Wings. Both Flyers losses in this series were one-goal games late in the third period, so they haven’t exactly been getting played off the ice. You’d be concerned if they got fucking boat raced in Game 5, but they did not.

Some thoughts, in no real order:

• Rasmus Ristolainen is too big to get worked on the boards the way he did on the first Yinzer goal.
• Tyson Foerster has warranted a healthy scratch, but Rick Tocchet probably won’t do that. Maybe Garnet Hathaway comes out and Foerster goes to the fourth line for Game 6. Alex Bump stays in the lineup and plays with Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov. If nothing else, put Michkov on PP1 and try to get something going there.
• Noah Juulsen should come back in for Emil Andrae. Need size in defense.
• Gonna need Owen Tippett to put a puck on net here sometime soon.
• Travis Konecny, we expect and need more out of you.
• Only mongrels should be allowed in the building on Wednesday night. Put the Main Liners up in the luxury boxes with their seafood towers. I wanna see Delco, Bridesburg, South Philly, and Fox Chase heavily represented in the barn. They should screen by neighborhood when fans are purchasing tickets. You know that if the Pens score first Wednesday night that place will go dead quiet, because as great as Philly sports fans are, they are reactionary and ebb and flow with what’s happening on the ice. You can combat that somewhat by putting 18,000 raging assholes inside Xfinity Mobile Arena.