Flyers-Penguins Playoff Series Game 4: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Philadelphia Flyers (3-0) have the chance to go for the sweep of their cross-state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins (0-3), in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia.

Philly has been in control of the entire series. Slow starts in each of Games 1 and 2 brought the game to what ended up being decisive second periods in both of the first two games. The Flyers ended up controlling play from there.

On Wednesday, the Penguins scored in the first period, the first time either team scored in the first 20 minutes of a game this series. Pittsburgh had its first lead of the series before the Flyers eventually took control of the game in the second period and closed it out from there.

On Saturday, the Flyers will look to get back to scoring first and controlling the game from the beginning.

Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena, though I’d expect it to be later, like Game 1. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.

Read More: Broad Street Brawl: Flyers Escape Wednesday Chaos With 5-2 Win

Flyers expected lines & pairs vs. Penguins in Game 4 

Forwards

Travis Konecny—Christian Dvorak—Porter Martone
Tyson Foerster—Trevor Zegras—Owen Tippett
Denver Barkey—Noah Cates—Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening—Sean Couturier—Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Travis Sanheim—Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York—Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler—Noah Juulsen

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar
Sam Ersson

Special Teams
PP1: Drysdale, Cates, Zegras, Foerster, Martone
PP2: Ristolainen, Dvorak, Tippett, Konecny, Michkov

PK1: Cates, Couturier, York, Sanheim
PK 2: Dvorak, Tippett, Seeler, Ristolainen

Read More: Flyers Up 3-0 in the Series, Can’t Take the Foot off the Gas in Game 4

Game Notes

The Philadelphia Flyers have not swept a playoff series since 1995 when the swept the New York Rangers in the semifinals. They’ve been swept multiple times since then, but have not done so themselves in a long time. The Flyers have the chance to do it on Saturday against their bitter rival in South Philadelphia.

One of the biggest headlines heading into the game is Dan Vladar’s health. He collided with Bryan Rust incidentally during Wednesday’s game. That warranted a visit from the trainer, where Vladar was visibly banged up. He remained in the game, but it will be a game-time decision on Saturday.

If Vladar cannot go, it will be Sam Ersson’s net. It has not been the season of Ersson’s dreams, especially in a contract year. He finished the regular season with an .870 SV% and a 3.12 GAA. However, he was more than excellent after the break, posting a .912 SV% and a 1.99 GAA in 9 appearances. If Ersson does get the nod, the Flyers should be more than confident when doing so.

Wednesday’s game was very chaotic. I would expect it to stir strong emotions on both sides. The Penguins will come out with a lot of intensity, angered by the result of Game 3, and with their backs against the wall. It will be important for the Flyers to maintain focus and discipline if they want to move on.

How to Watch Flyers vs. Penguins

TV: TBS, TruTV, HBO Max, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Again, I would expect the game to start closer to 8:30, since it’s the last game on TBS of the day.

Read More: Flyers Playoff Blog: There Should be Confidence in Sam Ersson

The post Flyers-Penguins Playoff Series Game 4: Lines, Notes & How to Watch appeared first on Philly Hockey Now.