Penguins vs. Flyers locked
The NHL playoff field is effectively set and Pittsburgh will open the first round against Philadelphia in an all‑Pennsylvania matchup. (post-gazette.com) (espn.com)
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are set to meet in the first round of the National Hockey League playoffs, reviving an all-Pennsylvania series that has not happened since 2018. (nhl.com) The matchup locked in on Monday, April 13, when Philadelphia beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 and clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh had already secured the division’s No. 2 spot, so the bracket snapped into place immediately. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) As of the latest official standings, the Penguins were 41-23-16 for 98 points and the Flyers were 41-27-12 for 94 points through 80 games. The National Hockey League playoff format sends the top three teams in each division into the bracket, with the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in a division opening against each other. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) For Philadelphia, the berth ends a five-season playoff drought that stretched back to the 2020 bubble postseason. The Flyers said this is their first playoff appearance since 2020 and their first spring with home playoff hockey since 2018. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) For Pittsburgh, the series marks a return after missing the playoffs in each season from 2022-23 through 2024-25. The Penguins’ team playoff page says they clinched a postseason spot for the first time since the 2021-22 season. (nhl.com) The rivals have met seven times before in the playoffs, with all seven series coming over the last 37 years. Philadelphia has won four of those seven meetings, including the 2012 first-round series, while Pittsburgh won the most recent matchup in 2018. (nhl.com) The official playoff bracket lists Carolina against Ottawa and Pittsburgh against Philadelphia on the Metropolitan side of the Eastern Conference. The National Hockey League said the 2026 playoffs begin this weekend, with the game schedule for Penguins-Flyers to be announced separately. (nhl.com) (nhl.com) That leaves one of hockey’s most familiar grudges back on the postseason calendar: Pittsburgh enters with home ice, Philadelphia enters after ending a long drought, and the state gets a playoff series across both ends of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. (nhl.com) (nhl.com)
