This one stings but it didn’t start that way.
The Flyers actually came out with jump, moving the puck well, generating early looks, and playing with the kind of pace you expect in a closeout game. For a stretch, it felt like they were ready to take control.
But then the mistakes hit.
Despite the strong start, it was the Penguins who struck first and they did it off giveaways. Two bad turnovers ended up in the back of the net, completely shifting the momentum.
That’s the difference in playoff hockey.
You can control stretches and look like the better team, but if you hand a team like Pittsburgh chances like that, they’re going to capitalize. And just like that, a game that felt like it was leaning one way flipped the other.
There were also a couple moments that are hard to ignore.
On one sequence, Kris Letang got away with what looked like a clear roughing penalty right in front of the official pulling Luke Glendening’s helmet off and forcing him off the ice. Seconds later, the Penguins capitalized.
That’s a tough swing.
Then later, Anthony Mantha threw multiple punches at Travis Sanheim after the whistle again, right in front of the referee and nothing came of it.
Those are the kinds of plays that usually get called, especially in a playoff game.
And when they don’t, it adds to the frustration.
Again, it’s not the reason the Flyers lost but when moments like that go uncalled and immediately lead to momentum shifts, it’s hard not to feel like it had an impact.
To their credit, the Flyers didn’t fold.
They battled back and found a way to tie the game, showing the kind of resilience that’s carried them through this series. It felt like they were starting to regain control, building momentum and pushing the pace again.
But then came the bounce.
The puck hit the boards behind the net, took a weird carom, and kicked right off Dan Vladar’s pad and in. One of those fluky, unfortunate plays you just can’t predict especially at this time of year.
That’s a tough one to swallow.
Because right after tying it, it felt like the Flyers were ready to take over. Instead, that bounce flipped everything back the other way. From that point on, they struggled to get that same momentum back, and the game started to slip out of reach.
Now let’s get into the adjustments because there were some.
In my opinion, the move to put Alex Bump in the lineup was a great one.
Matvei Michkov was clearly struggling to keep up with the physicality of this series. It’s not a knock on his skill he’s elite but this has been a heavy, hard-fought series, and his size was starting to work against him.
That’s where Bump comes in.
He’s bigger, stronger, and brings a different element and you could see it right away. But it’s not just size. He has experience in big-time moments, whether it’s the national championship stage at Western Michigan or deep playoff runs in juniors.
And it shows.
He looked extremely confident and poised with the puck, didn’t rush plays, and wasn’t fazed by the moment at all. That’s a big deal in a series like this, where every shift matters and the pace is relentless.
It felt like a necessary adjustment and one that could pay off moving forward.
Now looking ahead, I think you stick with this group.
Yes, they lost but it’s not like the Flyers were outplayed or looked out of it. In my opinion, they didn’t look terrible at all. The effort was there, the structure was still there, and they had stretches where they controlled play.
The difference?
A couple bad turnovers and one tough bounce.
That’s it.
And in playoff hockey, that’s sometimes all it takes. But those are fixable issues not signs of a team that needs to panic or overhaul the lineup.
You don’t change everything because of that.
If anything, you clean it up. Be sharper with the puck, limit the mistakes, and stay composed in key moments. Because if they do that, they’re still in a strong position to close this series out.
The foundation is still there.
Now it’s about tightening the details and finishing the job.
It’s a tough loss but not a defining one.
The Flyers are still in control of this series, and more importantly, they’ve shown they’re the better team when they play their game. Clean up the turnovers, get a bounce or two to go your way, and this looks like a very different result.
Now it comes down to the response.
Closeout games are never easy but the opportunity is still right in front of them.