Apr 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Trevor Zegras (46) celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
PHILADELPHIA — There just had to be a little nostalgia going through Flyers coach Rick Tocchet's mind early in the second period, along with other things.
There had been a scrum behind the Pittsburgh Penguins net early in the second that had Travis Konecny get his helmet ripped off while laying on the ground and multiple pair-offs pushing and shoving. When it was finally all over and the refs figured out the infractions, the penalty boxes were overflowing. Imagine that, a Flyers-Penguins game where that happens. Tocchet doesn't have to. He's seen it many times throughout his career, no doubt.
It wouldn’t be a Flyers-Penguins series without an all-out brawl, and this one is an all-timer😳😳😳
(via @NBCSPhilly) pic.twitter.com/BYTeBcl9vL
This time, it appeared to be an ignition switch for Tocchet's team, as they gained a power-play from all the penalties, 11 in all. Shortly after, they converted on the man advantage and gained a huge wave of momentum that they rode out to a 5-2 win to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 will be played at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
After Pittsburgh had taken a 1-0 lead into the second, the Flyers came out with a little bit more fire under their skates. It helped lead to the fracas that appeared to turn the game around. On the power play, Trevor Zegras took a perfect pass from Jamie Drysdale at the left circle and ripped a one-timer past goalie Stuart Skinner to tie the game. Less than four minutes later, Rasmus Ristolainen found himself all alone on the right circle and he calmly writsted one through the five-hole for a 2-1 lead:
Playoff Risto gives the Flyers the LEAD!
(via @FlyersNation) pic.twitter.com/dpdwYvOJ5X
As the Flyers were in the midst of doing nothing wrong, Nick Seeler threw one on net from the right point that stayed shoulder high until it reached the net behind Skinner for a 3-1 lead with 8:42 left in the second. They were the first career playoff goals for all three Flyers.
The only way the Penguins could somewhat tone down the Flyers faithful to begin the night was to get off to a good start, and they did just that in the first where they mostly controlled the play in their offensive end and were able to put home a power play goal early on to lower the temperature in the arena a bit.
While forechecking in front of goalie Skinner, Flyers captain Sean Couturier, who had an outstanding all-around game to go with two assists, tripped Pens defenseman Samuel Girard less than four minutes into the game. The Penguins power play, which hadn't scored in seven advantages in the series, broke the snide as they converted on a perfect tic tac toe to beat goalie Dan Vladar for the first time since Game 1.
Sidney Crosby threw a cross ice pass from the top of the left circle to Bryan Rust, stationed just to the right of Vladar. Rust quickly got the puck over to Malkin, sitting on the left side of the goal and he deposited it for his second of the series.
Pittsburgh played as if they were the desperate team in the first, pushing the puck to their offensive end with little regard of the Flyers beating them the other way. It worked as it controlled the action, save for a few Flyer breakouts that didn't amount to much. Both teams got 11 shots on goal, with Vladar having to make the more difficult stops throughout.
The end of the period brought out the most reaction from the crowd to that point. With 1:13 to go in the period and the teams lining up for a faceoff in the Flyers' end, Crosby was suddenly on the ice. Confusion abound, a replay showed that Garnet Hathaway got his stick tangled behind his back while skating through the circle. The blade went up around Crosby's face and he dropped as if he'd been tasered. After a bit of conversation, both got two minutes, Hathaway for high sticking and Crosby for embellishment:
Sidney Crosby deserves an Oscar for this move… but two minutes for embellishment will have to suffice.
(via @FlyersNation) pic.twitter.com/C27mGvMiLY
The Penguins made it 3-2 in the third on the power play with 10:21 to go in the third when an Erik Karlsson slap shot from the point leaked through Vladar and slipped into the goal. Matvei Michkov took a bad penalty before the goal, skating in and grabbing a Penguins head at the end of a play near Vladar. There really wasn't anything much going on that Michkov had to respond to, but he did and so did the Penguins.
But the Flyers responded shortly after when Pittsburgh got hit with a delay of the game penalty with 8:48 remaining in the game. A patient Zegras waited for just the right time to slip a pass to Noah Cates in front of the net and he deposited the goal for a 4-2 lead.
An empty net goal for Owen Tippett, a power-play kill, a few odd-man rushes, more solid play from Vladar and some calling-cards given closed out the game and gave the Flyers what just may be an insurmountable lead in the series.
