2017 NHL Stadium Series: Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia

The Penguins and Flyers will meet for the second time of the season at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh in this years NHL Stadium Series. In their first meeting of the season the Penguins won a 5-4 decision in Philadelphia. The Penguins come into this game fighting some recent injuries in their defense. Defensemen Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley are likely to miss the remainder of the regular season, while Justin Schultz is recovering from a concussion that has kept him off the ice for the past three games. If three defensemen wasn’t bad enough, Kris Letang, their best defender, is day-to-day with an injury of his own. Due to the recent injuries, the Pens have been forced to make a trade for a defenseman. They ended up trading for Carolina Hurricanes veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey, who is expected to make his debut on Saturday in the Stadium Series between this cross-state rivalry.

If the injuries in the back end wasn’t enough, they have also been dealing with injuries to their forwards in Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust. Even with all these injuries the Penguins over the past 10 games have been able to manage a 6-1-3 record to maintain second place in the Metropolitan Division only behind the Washington Capitals.

If you thought the Penguins were bad, the Flyers have only 9 wins in their last 27 games. Their recent lack of winning has moved them out of a playoff spot and put them 5 points back of a playoff spot. A loss in this big game could mean they start to move some players to prepare for next season. If they win a big primetime game like this, it could spark a fresh start for the Flyers and push for the playoffs. The Stadium Series will mark the 315th game between the two teams and we will all see 50 years of fiery fandom. The game will take place tonight 8 PM ET on NBC.

It has been 50 years of rivalry between the Flyers and Penguins and it is one of the greatest rivalries in the NHL. The rivalry was born in the “Next Six” expansion of 1967 (the 4 other expansion teams were: California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, and the St. Louis Blues). Their first game was was in the 67’ season in October in Philly with the Flyers notching a 1-0 shootout win. Since the 2008 season, they have met in the playoffs three times with each and every game being intense and brutal. Between 1974 and 1989, the Penguins failed to win at the Spectrum in Philly, the winless streak lasted 42 games.

“The Battle of Pennsylvania” has featured some of the greatest and most exciting games in NHL history. Hall of Fame players have been born throughout both teams history; players like Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux, and players like Claude Giroux and Sidney Crosby have kept this rivalry alive and better than ever.

In 2012 the Penguins were favorites to win another Cup but the Flyers had something else in mind when they faced in them in the second round. The Flyers won the series in 6 games after taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. The Flyers won games 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh and won game 3 8-4 at home. The Penguins stayed alive in game 4 with a 10-3 win and 3-2 win in game 5, but in game 6, the Flyers cruised to a 5-1 win to advance to the next round.

In 2009 the Penguins and Flyers met in the first round of the playoffs fighting through tough games and going back and forth all series until game 6 arrived. The Pens were up in the series 3-2 and the Flyers were up in the game 3-0. The game was all Philly until Max Talbot made a game changing move. He baited on my least favorite players ever, Dan Carcillo into a fight. Talbots plan worked as the Pens scored 5 straight goals to win the game. Pittsburgh would eventually role to the Finals and would win it all.

Game Prediction: Penguins win 3-2 in OT

Written by Chase Barnhart