We can’t take for granted that this matchup is happening. There was a real chance the 2018 series was going to be it for Sid vs Philadelphia. Just to put things into perspective, newly recalled Flyers forward Porter Martone (10pts in 9GP) was born on October 26, 2006. Sidney Crosby had 89 games played with 42 goals and 114 points by then.
Just because these aren’t the Mike Richards and Claude Giroux Flyers doesn’t mean there won’t be any fire to this series. Trevor Zegras has annoyed the Penguins the entire season and the fire between these two teams can easily be reignited. It should be a fun series.
Flyers earned their spot
Opposing styles
Before the Penguins were slated to be in the lottery while the Flyers were going to be hovering somewhere in the middle while missing the playoffs. The Penguins obliterated their projections. The Flyers were toiling around in mediocrity, that was until the Olympic break ended. They are as hot as any team heading into the postseason.
Records sometimes don’t tell the entire story. We’ve seen teams go on a heater, but the underlying numbers were fraudulent. This Flyers run has been backed by quality play. In the last 26 games they have a 52.0 xGF%, a .929 5v5 save percentage, a 10.37 5v5 shooting percentage.
A player like Matvei Michkov has had a turbulent start to his NHL career. He’s run into issues with his coaches like John Tortorella and Rick Tocchet. I’m not even suggesting that he is at fault, just that it hasn’t been a smooth go of things. Lately, he’s found his game. Since the Olympic break he leads all Flyers with a 2.7 points per 60 at 5v5 and also leads the team with 22 points. He is finding his groove at the right time.
One of the biggest developments for the Flyers has been the arrival of Porter Martone. He has been shot out of a cannon to start his NHL career. He has four goals and ten points in only nine career games. This has been a much needed boost to the Flyers offense. He is a new wrinkle for the Penguins to iron out and I think he is going to make himself noticeable immediately in the series.
This is a big development because the Flyers haven’t been a very good offensive team this year. They’ve been more successful on the defensive side of things
We have a situation where contrasting styles will be colliding. The Penguins take care of business on the offensive end. Something will have to give on this front
Sidney Crosby is back in the playoffs
It has been three years since Crosby has tasted postseason hockey in the NHL. This February, he was robbed of playing in a Gold Medal game for Canada, which they lost. You don’t think this guy is hungry? Throw in the fact it is the Flyers, he has been getting rest down the stretch, and I think we might just see the best version he has to offer at age 38. Historically speaking, he loves the Flyers even if he hates them.
In the 23 career playoff games he has against the Flyers he has 15 goals and 36 points. The Flyers are one of the few teams to get some true emotion out of Sid over the years and for the most part he channels that into torching them on the scoresheet. The Crosby sucks cheers are awesome and the sign of a true rivalry, but they are also like oxygen to Sid.
I cannot wait to see what 87 has in store for us in this series. What a perfect matchup to return to the playoffs with.
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