3 Things to Watch: Flyers at Penguins, Game 5 of Eastern Conference 1st Round

(3M) Flyers at (2M) Penguins

Eastern Conference First Round, Game 5

Philadelphia leads best-of-7 series 3-1

7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NBCSP, ESPN, SN360, SN, TVAS

PITTSBURGH -- The Philadelphia Flyers will make their second attempt to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round aa PPG Paints Arena on Monday.

The Flyers won the first three games of the series by a combined 11-4 before a 4-2 loss at home in Game 4 on Saturday. 

“We saw every game, the intensity, the desperation level kind of take another level,” Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said. “Last game, they came hard. Give them credit, they probably won more 50-50 battles than we did. That's one thing that I thought we were good at early on in the series, and we’ve just got to get back to winning those battles.”

The Flyers have not won a Stanley Cup Playoff series since defeating the Montreal Canadiens in six games in the 2020 Eastern Conference First Round. They’ve had 10 players make their NHL debuts in this series, so they’re learning on the fly how to close out a series.

“You can tell experience means a lot in certain things, and I think last game we lacked a little bit of experience in certain situations,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said. “But that's where you can learn from. That's why you're in the fight and you get to do it again and again. 

“I think that playing those type of games and then learning from it are huge for our young guys.” 

Pittsburgh will try for its second straight win to push the series back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Wednesday. That would further boost the Penguins’ confidence and put more pressure on the Flyers.

“We just won that one,” Pittsburgh forward Bryan Rust said. “It gave us a little bit of confidence. There’s some things we can continue to do to have more success, and we’ve got to continue to try to win just one more and then go from there.”

The Penguins thought they played closer to how they want to in Game 4, but coach Dan Muse still sees room for improvement.

“We have to continue to take steps, continue to tighten some things up defensively,” Muse said. “I thought we gave up too many odd-(man) rushes, some of the chances we gave up last game, I think we can definitely clean up as well. But it was more in line with the way that we want to play.”

Pittsburgh is trying to become the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series after starting the series at home, following the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who rallied to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final.

Here are 3 things to watch in Game 5:

1. Desperation

The Penguins were the more desperate team facing elimination in Game 4, which helped them to their first win of the series and avoid elimination. Sidney Crosby (one goal, one assist), Rickard Rakell (one goal, one assist) and Kris Letang (one goal) elevated their play, each scoring his first goal of the series. 

Pittsburgh will need more of the same and Philadelphia will have to match that after being a bit off Saturday. 

“I don't think we played bad,” Couturier said. “We maybe didn't play at our best, but we were right there till the end, 3-2 game. One or two breakdowns cost us. 

“But overall, if we play like that and win a little more 1-on-1 battles, 50-50 battles, I think we'll win a lot of games.”

2. Silovs vs. Vladar

Making his first start of the playoffs. Arturs Silovs was a difference-maker for the Penguins in Game 4. He made 28 saves, including nine of the 10 high-danger shots on goal he faced, according to NHL EDGE.

It was the first time in the series that Pittsburgh had the advantage in net after Dan Vladar (3-0, 1.33 goals-against average, .946 save percentage, one shutout) outplayed Stuart Skinner (0-3, 3.08 GAA, .873 save percentage) in the first three games.

But Vladar wasn’t as sharp in Game 4, allowing three goals on 21 shots, including two on five high-danger shots. If Silovs can outplay Vladar again, it will improve the Penguins’ chances of extending the series.

“In a situation like we're in, everybody has got to step up,” said Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain. “And for ‘Arty’ to have the game that he did was huge for us. It's one, so we've got to keep going.”

3. Lineup adjustments

The Penguins made two other changes in Game 4 -- Elmer Soderblom replaced Justin Brazeau at forward, and Ilya Solovyov for Kyle Clifton on defense. This time, it looks like the Flyers will shake things up.

They didn’t hold a morning skate, but based off practice on Sunday, it appears Emil Andrae will replace Noah Juulsen on defense, and rookie Alex Bump will replace Matvei Michkov at forward. Andrae hasn’t played since he sustained an upper-body injury in Game 1.

It would be bigger news if Michkov, the No. 7 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is a healthy scratch. The 21-year-old is one of two Flyers forwards without a point in the series, along with Tyson Foerster, and has only four shots on goal.

Bump, a 22-year-old looking to make his NHL playoff debut, had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 17 games with Philadelphia this season.

“He really looked good in practice (Sunday) with his shot and energy.” Tocchet said. “I think we need some. After last game, I think we need some energy.”

Flyers projected lineup

Denver Barkey -- Trevor Zegras -- Owen Tippett

Travis Konecny -- Christian Dvorak -- Porter Martone

Tyson Foerster -- Noah Cates -- Alex Bump

Luke Glendening -- Sean Couturier -- Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim -- Rasmus Ristolainen

Cam York -- Jamie Drysdale

Nick Seeler -- Emil Andrae

Dan Vladar

Samuel Ersson

Scratched: Garrett Wilson, Noah Juulsen, Matvei Michkov, Carl Grundstrom, Oliver Bonk, David Jiricek, Carson Bjarnason, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, Oscar Eklind, Jacob Gaucher

Injured: Rodrigo Abols (lower body), Nikita Grebenkin (upper body)

Penguins projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust

Egor Chinakhov -- Tommy Novak -- Evgeni Malkin

Elmer Soderblom -- Ben Kindel -- Anthony Mantha

Connor Dewar -- Blake Lizotte -- Noel Acciari

Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson

Samuel Girard -- Kris Letang

Ryan Shea -- Ilya Solovyov

Arturs Silovs

Stuart Skinner

Scratched: Justin Brazeau, Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Jack St. Ivany, Connor Clifton

Injured: Filip Hallander (blood clot)

Status report

Michkov, a forward, could be a healthy scratch after being held without a point in the first four games of the series; Bump, a 22-year-old rookie, would likely replace Michkov in what would be his Stanley Cup Playoff debut. ... Andrae might replace Juulsen on the Flyers’ third defense pair. ... The Penguins are expected to use the same lineup from a 4-2 win in Game 4 on Saturday.