Penguins Will Have Familiar Opponent In NHL Playoffs

PITTSBURGH, PA — This playoff series will not lack drama.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have clinched their first playoff berth since 2022 and on Monday they learned which team they will face in the Eastern Conference's first round: the Philadelphia Flyers, their bitter cross-state rivals.

The Flyers (42-27-12) clinched a playoff berth and third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2 shootout victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.

The Penguins (41-24-16) clinched a playoff berth and second place in the division April 9 and will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series.

“Couldn't have drawn it up any better, Battle of Pennsylvania, and it's going to be a good one,” Flyers forward Owen Tippett said to NHL. Com. “We're excited.”

The five-time Stanley Cup champion Penguins last won a playoff series in 2018,when they defeated the Flyers in six games in a first-round series.

The Flyers are coached by former Penguin Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach on several of the Pens' championship teams. He also is a former Penguins player.

“I won a couple of cups with Sidney Crosby, (Evgeni) Malkin, (Kris) Letang (in 2016 and 2017)," Tocchet said. "These guys, they don't die. These guys are just warriors. We're going to have our hands full."

The NHL playoffs begin this weekend, but the specific date and time for the first game here has yet to be announced.

It is unclear whether the NFL Draft, which will occur next week in Pittsburgh and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the city, is a factor in the lack of a scheduling announcement.