PHILADELPHIA \u2014 One of the NHL\u2019s nastiest rivalries has added a chapter to its story.<\/p>\n
In Game 3 of their first-round series, a combined 11 Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers players were sent to the penalty box after Penguins forward Bryan Rust and Flyers forward Travis Konecny took part in a wrestling match behind the Penguins\u2019 net. The scuffle led to a prolonged melee and an even longer delay as the officials determined which players to penalize.<\/p>\n
At one point, five Flyers went to the penalty box. Then, five Penguins went to the penalty box.<\/p>\n
Then, the officials debated for a while longer.<\/p>\n
In the end, another Penguins player entered the box to serve an additional penalty assessed to Rust. On the ensuing power play, the Flyers tied the score 1-1 on a Trevor Zegras goal. At the time of the infractions, the Penguins led, 1-0. Zegras\u2019 goal ignited an avalanche in favor of the Flyers, who went on to win 5-2.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of turned into a bit of a circus there,\u201d Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said after the game. \u201cI\u2019m not sure why they decided to put five guys in the box on each side, but yeah, I felt like that kind of changed a lot of momentum. It took a long time. It felt like, you know, obviously we didn\u2019t get the kill, so I felt like they fed off of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
penguins-flyers \ud83d\udc98 pic.twitter.com\/bIr74PjyMJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) April 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The altercations began when Konecny landed an elbow to Rust\u2019s face. Rust responded by jumping Konecny. The energized Philadelphia crowd loved every moment of it.<\/p>\n Ten players received two-minute penalties during the fiasco, with Rust the only player to receive four minutes of penalty time for the play.<\/p>\n Bryan Rust and Travis Konecny \ud83d\ude33 pic.twitter.com\/HW8wgMJdld<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The scene was reminiscent of the legendary 2012 series between these two teams that was as violent as it was entertaining. Game 3 of that series was so out of control that three Penguins were suspended for Game 4. That year, the Flyers took a 3-0 series lead in Philadelphia despite being underdogs in the series \u2014 just as they have this year, behind Wednesday\u2019s 5-2 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFired the crowd up, which probably fired us up too,\u201d Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen said. \u201cI feel like that was maybe one of the turning points there.\u201d<\/p>\n