In an exciting playoff matchup, the Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their first-round series. Both teams exceeded expectations this season, with the Penguins finishing second in the Metropolitan Division and making their first playoff appearance since 2022. The Flyers claimed third place, marking their return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Historically, the Penguins have a 3-4 record against the Flyers in postseason series, but they have advanced to at least the second round in eight of their 16 playoff runs featuring star players Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Notably, the Penguins will see four players make their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, including Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel. During the regular season, the Penguins demonstrated offensive prowess against the Flyers, scoring seven power-play goals on 18 opportunities, translating to a 38.9% success rate.