PITTSBURGH — The Penguins were back at PPG Paints Arena on Monday for Game 5 against the Flyers, carrying a 3-1 series deficit and the belief that their season could still change on home ice. They forced the game by winning Game 4 in Philadelphia, then returned after a Sunday travel day and a full morning skate with the same lineup Dan Muse used the night before.
Arturs Silovs started in goal for the second straight game after Stuart Skinner played the first three, a choice that reflected the club’s confidence in both netminders. Bryan Rust said the Penguins had “a lot of confidence in our goalies,” while Ryan Shea said the team’s goal in Philadelphia was always to bring the series back to Pittsburgh and let the crowd help swing it. Shea expected the arena to be loud, and Sidney Crosby said the energy from the building mattered in a game this important.
Game 4 gave the Penguins a reason to believe. Crosby scored on a set faceoff play on the first power-play opportunity, and Pittsburgh built enough off that opening to extend the series even after struggling to generate much on the next two power plays and giving up some shorthanded chances. Muse said the group played “more whistle to whistle” and was better at starting to play with the puck, supporting one another and moving through the neutral zone, but he added that the Penguins still needed to tighten up defensively and keep taking steps.
That is the edge the Penguins have been chasing since the series opened. Games 3 and 4 were in Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena, where the Flyers took control and pushed Pittsburgh to the brink before the Penguins answered in Game 4. The pattern has been hard to miss: when Pittsburgh has managed to simplify, support the puck and stay connected, it has looked more like the team it wants to be. When it tries to force plays, Rust said, things can go awry. The power play remains part of the test, and the Penguins know it has to be better if they want to turn one home game into something larger.
Muse said the ice would not be the only thing the Penguins needed to bring on Monday night. The crowd had been feeding the building all series, he said, and Pittsburgh had to match that energy on the ice. After a win that kept them alive, the next step was sharper and narrower: do enough at home to make the Flyers feel the pressure shift.
