3 thoughts as Flyers meet Penguins in first round of NHL playoffs – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers felt like they’d a playoff mindset for the final month and a half of the common season.

That urgency led to pressure-packed video games and louder arenas, particularly on dwelling ice as the fan base noticed the legitimacy of the Flyers’ playoff push.

For the crew’s kids, it was nice expertise. But it most likely does not equal what’s in retailer for the Flyers’ best-of-seven first-round matchup with the Penguins.

Philadelphia is a unique animal when the postseason arrives. Sean Couturier is aware of that higher than anybody on the roster.

“I’ve told them it’s wild,” the Flyers’ captain stated Tuesday with a smile. “I feel the final couple of weeks, we have felt the ambiance in the constructing form of take one other stage. But I hold form of reminding them that it is actually nothing in comparison with playoffs in Philly.

“Everyone in orange, right in warmups, everyone’s there in their seats and ready to go and screaming, getting under the other team’s skin a little bit at times. It’s a lot fun, there’s a lot of passion in the building. I’m excited for our group.”

The Flyers snapped their five-year postseason drought with a concerted climb in the standings, a run that was capped off Monday night. Now they’re set to resume their rivalry with Pittsburgh starting Saturday night for Game 1.

Here are three thoughts on the sequence.

Experience vs. inexperience

The Penguins are wealthy with playoff pedigree. The Flyers, alternatively, have 13 first-timers.

“I think I saw something today where they have, like, 1,027 playoff games and we have 100 or something like that,” Trevor Zegras stated Thursday. “So it’s going to be a good challenge for us, the battle of Pennsylvania. I grew up watching these two teams go to war for years, so it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Sidney Crosby owns 180 video games of postseason expertise and three Stanley Cup titles. He’s one of 5 gamers on Pittsburgh’s roster that has gained a Stanley Cup. When Crosby gained his first, Porter Martone was 2 years previous.

So the Penguins will not be rattled by the magnitude of the second. But they might really feel much more on their shoulders. Their core is making an attempt to capitalize on yet one more run. The Flyers haven’t got a lot to lose. They’re very a lot taking part in with home cash and a mentality of “us against the world.”

The Flyers, although, must discover a strategy to fight Crosby. There has been no greater Flyers killer than No. 87. Travis Sanheim has seen Crosby up shut as an opponent and as a teammate with Team Canada on the Olympics, 4 Nations Face-Off and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

“Have a ton of respect for him and what he has done throughout his career,” Sanheim stated Thursday. “Yet if I respect him, I want to play him hard. I know that I’m going to have to be playing lots against him. I’m looking forward to the battle.”

Rick Tocchet is aware of Crosby properly, too.

“You’ve got to go through him, you’ve got to be on top of him, you’ve got to make it a hard game for him, you’ve got to get in his way,” the Flyers’ head coach stated Thursday. “Because if you’re not, you know what he can do.”

Tocchet was an assistant coach with the Penguins once they gained back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.

“We have a ton of respect for Sid, he’s an unbelievable person and player,” Tocchet stated, “but we’ve got to get him in the ditches. We’ve got to make it hard on him.”

Keep the taking part in area even

A serious key for the Flyers will likely be holding the sport at 5-on-5.

They didn’t have an efficient common season on particular groups. They sported the Twenty second-ranked penalty kill (77.6 p.c) and the league’s worst energy play (15.7 p.c).

Since March 1, the Flyers had been tied for the second-most energy play targets allowed with 19. But in that span, they had been wonderful at 5-on-5, giving up a league-low 30 targets.

So it is not only a hockey cliché. The Flyers want to remain out of the penalty field. Especially when you think about that Pittsburgh can actually rating. The Penguins put up the NHL’s third-most targets per sport (3.54) and had the seventh-best energy play (24.1 p.c).

“They’ve got a ton of skill on that side, I’ve played with Sid a number of times,” Sanheim stated. “We want to stay disciplined throughout the series and keep it at 5-on-5. I think we’ve done a nice job of that throughout the season and it’s something that we’re going to have to continue to do. It’s going to be super important in the series.”

The Flyers weren’t a high-end goal-scoring crew throughout the common season. Their offense dried up at instances. But they had been as stingy as anyone down the stretch. They went 18-6-1 over their closing 25 video games and surrendered simply 2.36 targets per sport.

Dan Vladar has shown he can carry a team in net. He has spoken extremely of the Flyers’ locker room.

“When I signed, I had 15 guys reaching out to me the first day in free agency, which I was shocked about,” Vladar stated Thursday. “That’s not common. Just those little things show how much the guys care for each other.”

Michkov has momentum

There’s little doubt Matvei Michkov is an X-factor for the Flyers. They went 11-0-0 in the common season when the 21-year-old winger recorded a multi-point sport.

He got here on robust as the video games bought greater. Over the Flyers’ final 16 video games, Michkov led the crew with 18 factors (4 targets, 14 assists). He additionally had a plus-11 score in that span.

Michkov completed the common season with 20 targets and 51 factors. That was an actual constructive contemplating how the whole lot went before the Olympic break in February.

Tocchet has seen a extra snug Michkov — from his participation in team meetings to understanding the coaches and connecting with teammates.

“I’m going to be honest with you guys, earlier in the season, he wasn’t a loner, but he was kind of alone a lot,” Tocchet stated. “Now he is round with the younger guys. I feel it is an enormous improvement for Mich.

“He has actually stepped up his English, but he’s more involved. The other night, he was out to dinner with three rookie guys. I think that’s huge, for his development, too.”