Musings: PIT 4, PHI 2 (Round 1, Game 4)

Going into Game 4 against the Flyers, with the Penguins needing a win to stay alive in the series, Evgeni Malkin said, “I hope it's not over and we're back to Pittsburgh, because we want to play in front of our fans. They deserve (for us to) play at home.”

With a 4-2 win on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Penguins will get to do just that. Pittsburgh hosts Philadelphia for Game 5 on Monday at 7 PM.

“(Bringing the series back to Pittsburgh) was our only option, and it wasn't pretty a lot of times today. But we stuck with it,” said Rickard Rakell, who had a goal and an assist. “Obviously, it feels really good. It’s a huge win.”

SETTING THE SCENE

The Penguins had two days between games to reset and refocus, which turned out to be hugely beneficial. They had a full day off on Friday, and practice on Saturday. At the rink, the players did an excellent job of handling the circumstances. On the ice, “they were focused, but I also thought they weren’t too tight,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. Off the ice, during media availability, Malkin and Sidney Crosby faced the music with lengthy interviews. The captain was his usual gracious self, while Malkin brought his trademark mix of honesty and humor.

“Credit to Sid and to the leaders. I think today starts yesterday, and we didn't want to skip over that and over that practice day,” Muse said following tonight’s game. “I felt based on the way the guys approached things, really good in terms of where the mindset was at.”

TAKEAWAYS

AN ARTY PARTY IN PHILLY

In the first three games of the series, the Penguins turned to the goaltender who had played in the last two Stanley Cup Finals with the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner did the best he could behind a group that struggled to play their game, and produced some excellent goaltending.

But with Pittsburgh not ending up on the right side of the score, they decided to make some lineup changes. That included going with Arturs Silovs in net for Game 4. The netminder stepped in and stepped up, stopping 28 of 30 shots.

“Tonight, with the situation we were in, and a loud building like this, I thought he was really poised and made some big saves for us,” Crosby said.

Silovs was rock solid in the opening frame, where he faced nine shots. Overall, it was a decent period for the Penguins, with Crosby opening the scoring on their first power play opportunity.

They built a 2-0 lead early in the second on a nice tally from Rakell, and had a chance to firmly grab hold of the momentum after drawing a penalty. Instead, the Flyers swung it back with a strong penalty kill. They ended up scoring shortly after another big penalty kill to make it 2-1, but it could have been much worse if it weren’t for Silovs’ efforts, as they were generating numerous shorthanded chances.

“He was awesome,” Rakell said. “He made some big saves to keep our lead, especially when we got a little sloppy there on the power play and gave them a little bit too many easy looks.”

Silovs has been building a reputation as a goaltender who comes up clutch in big moments, and added to that with his performance tonight.

“It’s an exciting opportunity. I think playing playoffs is the most fun you can ever have,” said Silovs, who was named AHL Playoff MVP after backstopping the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup Championship last year. “You've been waiting for a whole season to get at this point and, yeah, I think just enjoying every minute of it.”

Muse praised how Silovs handled serving as the backup for Games 1-3, after the Penguins had rotated their goaltenders virtually every other game after acquiring Skinner from Edmonton in December, and the job he did to stay ready.

“The professionalism, the way he just focused in on his day to day, made sure that he was prepared, and when his name was called, he was ready. So, great by him,” Muse said.

‘WE LOOKED MORE LIKE OURSELVES’

The red-hot Flyers, who went on a tear down the stretch to turn single-digit playoff odds into a berth, dictated the terms for the majority of Games 1-3. Philly was particularly adept at getting the Penguins to engage outside of the whistles.

They just didn’t feel like the Penguins we watched all season long, the ones who flipped the script to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022 by playing a relentless, competitive and scrappy style while supporting each other across all 200 feet of the ice.

Tonight, however, was different.

“I think that looked more like our game. It’s probably taken us three games to look like ourselves a bit,” Crosby said. “So, I think that's something that we can definitely build on.”

They got back to their team structure, which was such a big key to their success in the regular season, and didn't get as caught up in the elevated emotion and excitement of the playoffs.

“I thought we were a little bit more poised,” Crosby said. “I mean, that (post-whistle) stuff's going to happen, it's the playoffs, but we just have to be a little bit more smart about it. And I thought we did a better job of that.

“I think that translated into the game and the way we played. We had a lot of guys contributing, generate really good chances and looked more like ourselves.”

RAK CITY

Rickard Rakell played with the heart of a lion in this one. His refusal to be outworked led to a couple of goals. His tally was quite a sequence, as he forced Flyers goalie Dan Vladar to turn the puck over while trying to play it.

“Just try to pressure the goalie and the puck ended up hitting me, and then just try to reach for it,” Rakell said. “Yeah, I didn't even see it go in, but I realized that it was in the net. So obviously, great feeling, and great feeling to go up two goals knowing that they're gonna have a pushback.”

He then helped Crosby set up Kris Letang for the game-winner. It was a terrific performance from Rakell, one of many amongst the Penguins. The fourth line of Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari had several tone-setting shifts. Dewar got a well-deserved empty netter to ice the victory. And Ryan Shea continues to elevate his play as part of a breakout season on the blue line.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Penguins stayed in Philly overnight following the game before flying back on Sunday. They will return to the ice for morning skate on Monday ahead of Game 5. 

“Obviously, going home, it doesn't get any easier,” Crosby said. “With every game in the series, it's more difficult. But we've got some life, and we got to take advantage of the opportunity of going back home now.”