Up until the very end, the Pittsburgh Penguins battled and fought to force a Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers in their first round series, but Dan Vladar was a brick wall in net and Cam York found a just enough daylight behind Arturs Silovs to score an overtime winner that gave the Flyers a 1-0 victory in Game 6 to eliminate the Penguins and send the Flyers into the second round where they will face the Carolina Hurricanes.
After no scoring through 60 minutes thanks to some stellar goaltending
from both Silovs and Vladar, Game 6 went into overtime for the first time this series and the Penguins were in control for much of the overtime period but Vladar never blinked. Although they had few opportunities in the extra frame, all the Flyers needed was to make one count and Cam York did exactly that to initiate handshakes between the two rivals. [Pensburgh]
Pens Points…
Mario Lemieux was in attendance for the Penguins Game 5 win on Monday night and his presence around the team may become more frequent in the near future. According to sources close to Mario, he is planning on having a bigger role with the franchise once the team sale is approved to the Hoffman family. [The Athletic $$]
In case of emergency, the Penguins recalled Joel Blomqvist from the AHL on Wednesday to serve as the third goalie for Game 6 in Philadelphia. Sergei Murashov held that role earlier in the series, but with him being the top netminder in Wilkes-Barre, it was Blomqvist getting the nod last night. [Trib Live]
It has been a roller coaster 2025-26 for Kris Letang, with seemingly more downs than ups this season. While there will certainly be questions about Letang’s future this offseason, right now he is playing his best hockey of the season right as the team needs him most. [The Hockey News]
Aside from a single assist in Game 5, this has been a series to forget for Penguins leading goal scorer Anthony Mantha. Through 19 career playoff games, Mantha has never recorded a postseason goal, but he’s hoping if he start putting more puck on net his luck will start to change. [Trib Live]
NHL News and Notes…
It’s all Eastern Conference goalies among the finalists for the Vezina Trophy this season. Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins will each be looking to take home their first Vezina while now six-time finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy will hope to add to his 2019 win. [NHL]
After being held pointless in a four game sweep against the Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk spoke to the media on Tuesday and denied any rumors he was unhappy in Canada’s capital and could be looking for a way out this offseason. [NHL]
