By Malia Radcliff ’29
The Philadelphia Flyers versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. One of the greatest rivalries in the entire NHL. The Battle of Pennsylvania. The Flyers are playing the Penguins in round one of the playoffs. Game one is Saturday, April 18, at 8pm. They will play from four to seven games. The best out of seven moves on to round two.
Any game between the two teams ends up being amazing, and those are just games in the regular season. These teams playing each other in the playoffs, when everything is on the line, will be electric.
“Both Pittsburgh and Philly have great sports fans,” said business teacher, Mr. Joshua Butina. “I know downtown Pittsburgh always gets crazy. I know Philly gets crazy. I think the atmosphere for this series is unmatched.”
Assistant principal, Mr. Charles Dembrosky said something similar: “[I’m most excited for] the atmosphere. I’ve been to a decent number of Flyers games, and the fans are always the best part of it. They’re really loud. Philly fans are always fun to be around during playoff time.”
The Flyers ended the season with a record of 43-27-12. The first number is overall wins, the second is losses, and the third is overtime losses. The Penguins ended their season with a record of 41-25-16. Sean Couturier, captain of the Flyers, is hoping to lead them to victory against Sidney Crosby, the Penguins’ captain.
“I think the pressure is off of the Flyers because they’re technically still rebuilding in my opinion, so I think it’s just a bonus for them to play,” Dembrosky said. “So I think the pressure’s a lot more on the Penguins than it is on the Flyers. The Flyers are young. The Penguins have a lot of aging veterans.”
On the other hand, here is sophomore Evan Ripchinski’s thoughts on who will win round 1: “Penguins, because they have more experience in the playoffs, and I think the team will be giving their all for their captain Sidney Crosby.”
Towards the end of the regular season, the Flyer’s playoff chances ended up depending on their final games. They had two games remaining, and if they won at least one, they were in the playoffs.
Dembrosky’s reaction to the Flyers clinching a spot was “relief, because I grew up in an age where the Flyers were really competitive, like always making the playoffs.” He added, “I mean, it’s only been like 5 years since they’ve made it, but at the same time that’s a long time for Flyers fans to have to wait for playoffs.”
“I was really happy for both teams, no one thought either team would be in the playoffs when the season started,” Ripchinski said. “The Flyers game when they beat the Hurricanes in a shootout was so awesome! What a way to get into the playoffs!”
Even if you don’t frequently watch hockey, the Flyers vs Penguins games in the playoffs will be some unforgettable games!