Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been on this stretch of highway before.<\/p>\n
His team was down 3-0 in a dirty, nasty first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012. The club kept the series alive by winning Game 4. It headed back to Philly for Game 6 after a tense 3-2 win at PPG Paints Arena in Game 5.<\/p>\n
This is probably where Crosby would like the 2012 postseason similarities to stop.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because once the 2012 Pens got that series back to Philadelphia down 3-2 after falling in a 3-0 hole, they shouldn\u2019t have even gotten off the bus at the rink.<\/p>\n
Claude Giroux decked Crosby after the opening faceoff. Then he scored 32 seconds into the game. Scott Hartnell added another goal at 13:01 in the first priod, and Philadelphia dusted the Penguins, 5-1, to win the game and end the series.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI think every series is new,\u201d Crosby said Monday night. \u201cYou try to rely on experience to some extent, but I think it\u2019s new groups and a different situation. I thought the last couple of games, we\u2019ve found our stride a bit. So we should feel good about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang scored the game-winning goal in the 3-2 Pittsburgh victory in Game 5 on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena. Like Crosby, he is one of the few current Penguins who can remember attempting to close that 3-0 series gap in 2012, and the difficulty of keeping the energy up for that third straight elimination game.<\/p>\n
Especially on the road in front of the always hostile Philadelphia crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first three games (of this series) we got into the same slow game \u2014 scrum it out every time,\u201d Letang said. \u201cThe playoffs, it\u2019s a different energy. In Games 4 and 5, we were playing with pace. That\u2019s what we did all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
One area that has aided the Penguins\u2019 comeback effort in this series has been better starts. After chasing the Flyers for the entirety of the first two contests, the Penguins have scored the first goal in each of the last three games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe start in every game is huge,\u201d Penguins winger Bryan Rust said. \u201cWhen you are at home, you get the crowd on your side, and when you are on the road, you take the crowd out of it a little bit if you can get off to a good start. That\u2019s been our goal every game. That\u2019s going to continue to be our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just been scoring first that has helped the Penguins draw close to even in the series. It\u2019s how they\u2019ve played with the lead.<\/p>\n
In the Game 4 win, Dan Muse\u2019s team led throughout on the way to a 4-2 victory. In Game 5, Pittsburgh jumped out to a 2-0 lead, blew it, but never let Philadelphia go ahead prior to Letang\u2019s fluky game-winner.<\/p>\n
A BOUNCE FROM THE HOCKEY GODS ???? <\/p>\n
PENGUINS BACK ON TOP 3-2! HOW DID THIS GO IN? \u2b07\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/9SW6VTMr75<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 28, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve come out better in the last few games. I think the execution is going to continue to get better,\u201d Muse said. \u201cI think you\u2019re seeing more of that. The last couple of games, we\u2019ve taken steps in the right direction. I still think that there\u2019s also another level that we can continue to get to. But this was a good step.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet has noticed some trends he wants his team to reverse before Game 6 begins Wednesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be pushing back. Forechecks. Getting in on people,\u201d Tocchet said<\/a>. \u201cA couple of guys look a little sluggish with the pace. \u2026 It\u2019s important that we understand there is another pace in us.\u201d<\/p>\n The Penguins\u2019 motto heading into the 2026 postseason has been \u201cFlip the script.\u201d So far, this Pens-Flyers series has been pretty much a carbon copy of that story arc from 2012.<\/p>\n Now more than ever, these Penguins would like to author an alternate ending. Not only how Game 6 started in 2012, but how they want it to conclude in 2026.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t