Denver Barkey scored his first career playoff goal in Game 4 on Saturday night, redirecting a Trevor Zegras pass from out wide past Artūrs Šilovs to cut the Penguins’ lead to 2-1.
The goal came after Pittsburgh had opened a 2-0 cushion, and it gave the 20-year-old Barkey two points in his first career playoff series. Zegras had fed the puck from the boards, and Barkey’s touch finish briefly pulled the Flyers back into a game they were trying to win to complete a sweep.
That matters because the Flyers were in the middle of their first-round playoff series against Pittsburgh, with a chance to finish off the Penguins and earn their first playoff series win since 2020. Dan Vladař started Game 4 for Philadelphia despite getting a little banged up in Game 3, but the first half of the night belonged to Pittsburgh, which jumped ahead 2-0 before Barkey answered.
The Flyers’ best moment was quickly followed by a swing back the other way. Barkey took a high-sticking penalty in the offensive zone before Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the series five seconds into Pittsburgh’s first power play of the game, with Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust credited with assists. For Philadelphia, the sequence underlined both the promise in Barkey’s first postseason and the danger of giving the Penguins any room to reset the game.
Barkey’s goal gave the Flyers a jolt, but it also sharpened the stakes. A sweep was within reach, and the series was still being shaped by the same old Pittsburgh pressure that has defined so many playoff meetings between these teams.
