The Flyers and Penguins are set to face off in the playoffs. The Flyers snapped their five-year postseason drought and are now set to renew their rivalry with Pittsburgh starting Saturday night for Game 1.
Flyers’ Playoff Mindset
The Flyers felt like they had a playoff mindset for the last month and a half of the regular season. That urgency led to pressure-packed games and louder arenas, especially on home ice as the fan base saw the legitimacy of the Flyers’ playoff push. For the team’s youngsters, it was great experience. But it probably does not equate to what is in store for the Flyers’ best-of-seven first-round matchup with the Penguins.
Philadelphia is a different animal when the postseason arrives. Sean Couturier said, “I’ve told them it’s wild…I think the last couple of weeks, we’ve felt the atmosphere in the building kind of take another level. But I keep kind of reminding them that it’s really nothing compared to playoffs in Philly.
“Everyone in orange, right in warmups, everyone’s there in their seats and ready to go and screaming, getting under the other team’s skin a little bit at times. It’s a lot fun, there’s a lot of passion in the building. I’m excited for our group.”
Penguins’ Playoff Experience
The Penguins are rich with playoff pedigree. The Flyers, on the other hand, have 13 first-timers. Trevor Zegras said, “I think I saw something today where they have, like, 1,027 playoff games and we have 100 or something like that…So it’s going to be a good challenge for us, the battle of Pennsylvania. I grew up watching these two teams go to war for years, so it’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Sidney Crosby owns 180 games of postseason experience and three Stanley Cup titles. He’s one of five players on Pittsburgh’s roster that has won a Stanley Cup. The Penguins won’t be rattled by the magnitude of the moment. But they could feel a lot more on their shoulders.
The Crosby Factor
The Flyers have to find a way to combat Crosby. There has been no bigger Flyers killer than No. 87. Travis Sanheim has seen Crosby up close as an opponent and as a teammate with Team Canada at the Olympics, 4 Nations Face-Off and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Sanheim said, “Have a ton of respect for him and what he has done throughout his career…Yet if I respect him, I want to play him hard.
The Flyers don’t have much to lose. They’re very much playing with house money and a mentality of “us against the world.”