The Pittsburgh Penguins should have went into Game 2 on Monday with something of an understanding of how the Philadelphia Flyers were going to oppose them. Philadelphia set up a trap in the neutral zone that Pittsburgh ended up having to dump-and-chase through instead of having the freedom to enter the zone. When the Penguins were able to get established in their defensive end, the Flyers were aggressive on the puck carrier but not so much that it disrupted their structure, and with that structure they gave Pittsburgh little time and space to move the puck. Any shots headed goaltender Dan Vladar’s way were low danger, or blocked. I can think of a few possible ways to work around that which are easy for me to suggest as a casual observer, like being faster on zone entries, or being smarter and quicker with the puck movement, or establishing a stronger presence in the “dirty areas” (down low in the slot). One way or another, the Penguins needed to make adjustments heading into Game 2 if they were to “flip the script”.

Well, the song remained the same in Game 2; in fact, the end result was worse. While Pittsburgh managed more shots on goal, it was all for naught as they handed Dan Vladar his first shutout since December 3, 2024, and the Flyers skated comfortably out of PPG Paints Arena with a 3-0 win and 2-0 series lead heading back to Philadelphia. The Penguins are not playing anything like how they did during the regular season, getting themselves wrapped up in the Flyers’ physicality and not focusing on the smart hockey which got them to the playoffs in the first place. They’re letting Philadelphia dictate the flow of the game. They are taking a high volume of shot attempts, but they’re largely low danger if they make it on goal (83% of their shots on goal), but the bigger picture is that only 20.87% of their shot attempts are on goal. Add that to Vladar saving 95.45% of the shots he has faced, and it all adds up to the kind of inept offensive performance that we have seen from the worst of Pittsburgh over the past several years.

The good news for the Penguins is that, if they manage to find a way to crack the Flyers’ defensive structure, they should have the upper hand. Being the third-highest scoring team in the NHL was not a fluke; they were also top three in the NHL in high-danger shot attempts, shots on goal, and goals. They know how to get the puck in the net when they’re given the opportunity. So far this series they have been stifled by a team that has had little intention of generating much offense of its own except for taking advantage of mistakes. If Pittsburgh can get a lead in this series, Philadelphia will have to abandon its strict defensive stature and risk giving the Penguins more than they would want to.

Maybe being their first home playoff game in years will get the Flyers out of sorts. We can only hope.

“I had a dream
Oh, yeah
Crazy dream, uh-huh…
Pens in 7″

LGP