Pens talk facing the Flyers again in the playoffs

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Pens aren’t shying away from playing the Flyers. They say they embrace it, understand it, but it’s more about right now and this series not something previously many of these players weren’t alive to witness.

“With the divisions, you are going to play somebody you are pretty familiar with,” said Pens captain Sidney Crosby. “With it being as much of a rivalry as it is with the history of the teams. It’s great for everybody, it’s great for the fans, for the guys on both teams.”

“A lot of new faces and a lot of new people on both sides. I think it’s more about taking this for what it is and not really looking at the past.”

All-time the Flyers lead the post-season head-to-head with four wins in seven playoff series. Philly won the first three matchups and the Pens have won three of the last four with the only Crosby-era loss in six games in 2011-12.

“I think emotions play such a big role in the playoffs no matter what,” said Pens first-year head coach Dan Muse. “I want the focus on be on us.”

He understands the furor among the fans. Muse said he understands what it means, but they can’t let that into their game in the 2025-26 playoffs.

“For us we want to make sure we are focusing on the things that we can control,” Muse said. “That’s something that I think this group has done a good job of this year. Obviously, you get to this time of year, things just continue to elevate. You get to the end of the season, now things elevate. Playoffs, now things elevate even more. We want to make sure that we continue to elevate all parts of our game and I think focusing on what you can control and the emotional control is a part of that.”

Not that he wants it to be emotion-less, Flyers head coach Rich Tocchet has already said they need to get after Crosby, along with his two-decade teammates Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. This is nothing new to the 38-year-old, his receptions in Philly are so intense they are almost comical.

Crosby said he isn’t phased by what Tocchet, who won a pair of Stanley Cups with Crosby as a Pens assistant, says.

“Yeah, it’s to be expected,” Crosby said. “What else do you expect him to say? We are all out there competing. We all want the same thing. That’s how it works.”

Along with the physical will come the verbal from the fans. Defenseman Erik Karlsson hunted for polite words to describe the rivalry finally saying ‘both fan bases are dedicated to one another’.

This season’s Penguins Team MVP, Karlsson has experienced a lot, but not Pens-Flyers playoffs.

“It’s going to be a fun time,” Karlsson said. “I’ve never played against Philly in the playoffs before, but been around long enough to know what to expect in that building. It’s going to be fun on both sides of it. You are going to be hated just as much as you are loved and that’s part of the fun going into playoffs.”

“I think it’s great, said forward Blake Lizotte, who practiced 100% on Thursday. “They’ve been playing great hockey, so it’s going to be a tough matchup. They’ve got a good team.”

“I think everyone wanted the Battle of PA and I think all the players included.”

Now we got it starting Saturday night at 8 at PPG Paints Arena.