Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers 2/25/2025

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (23-27-9, 55 points, 8th place Metropolitan Division) @ Philadelphia Flyers (25-26-7, 57 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Local on SN-PIT and NBCSP, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens return home Thursday to complete the home-and-home set against the Flyers. This weekend presents a tough-back-to-back against the Boston Bruins on Saturday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Opponent Track: The Flyers came out of the 4 Nations break hot on Saturday by claiming a 6-3 win over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

Season Series: It’s been a mixed bag so far. The Pens claimed a 7-3 win over the Flyers at home in December, but dropped a 3-2 decision in Philadelphia just before the break.

Hidden Stat: The Pens have points in eight of their last nine games against the Flyers and are 6-1-2 over the stretch.

Getting to know the Flyers

Projected lines (from Monday’s practice)

FORWARDS

Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov

Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink

Andrei Kuzmenko - Scott Laughton - Travis Konecny

Jakob Pelletier - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway

DEFENSEMEN

Cam York - Travis Sanheim

Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale

Egor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen

Goalies: Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov

Scratches: Kasperi Kapanen, Troy Stecher

IR: Eetu Makiniemi

• Travis Sanheim, who won the 4 Nations Face-Off with Sidney Crosby and Team Canada, missed Monday’s practice for a maintenance day, per PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor.
• Jakob Pelletier, whose post-trade Flyers debut was delayed by visa issues, made his first appearance in orange and black Saturday against the Oilers.

Player stats

(via hockeydb)

• The Flyers are hoping the addition of Andrei Kuzmenko, acquired from the Calgary Flames last month alongside draft capital in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, can help provide some answers on the power play. The unit currently ranks 28th in the NHL with a 16.2 success rate.

From The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz:

[Assistant coach Rocky] Thompson, who oversees the power play, is anxious to see what Kuzmenko can do in the bumper position, as someone who can shoot the puck but also make plays.

“Especially in the bumper position, you’ve got to be able to do both — and he does,” Thompson said. “Even in practice, we can see it, just in the last two days. He thinks ahead, he jumps, he will go to the hard areas of the ice. Playing in the bumper, you need that versatility, as well. And he has it.”

• You might remember Samuel Errsson from last Monday, when he made 32 saves against Team USA to help Team Sweden cap off the 4 Nations Round Robin stage with a 2-1 victory.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Anthony Beauvillier - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell

Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Cody Glass

Michael Bunting - Kevin Hayes - Philip Tomasino

Matt Nieto - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

P.O. Joseph / Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk (?) / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Vincent Desharnais

Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist

Potential Scratches: Ryan Shea, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Boko Imama (upper-body injury)

IR: Bryan Rust

• No team updates yet on Matt Grzelcyk, who suffered an undisclosed upper body injury after hitting his head on the ice following a hit from Matt Rempe on Sunday against the Rangers.
• Also no updates on Bryan Rust, who missed a second straight game on Sunday due to illness.
• Joel Blomqvist, who started Sunday, marked his fifth straight loss. He hasn’t won a game since Nov. 8.
• Alex Nedeljkovic has a 3-2-1 record, .917 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average in six prior games against the Flyers.
• Milestone watch: Sidney Crosby is one goal away from passing Bobby Hull for No. 18 on the NHL’s all-time goalscoring leaderboard. Evgeni Malkin is one assist away from passing Alex Delvecchio and Anze Kopitar for the 13th-most assists ever recorded with a single franchise. Rickard Rakell is two points away from No. 500, which would make him the third active Swedish player to hit the mark. (All milestone notes via Pens PR.)
• Erik Karlsson is on a seven-game point streak, one behind the Washington Capitals’ John Carlson for the longest active streak in the NHL.