The rivalry in the Keystone State of Pennsylvania has been a treat for years. The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins have had a deep hatred for one another over their history. Highlighted by star players including Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jaromir Jagr for the Penguins, and Eric Lindros, Claude Giroux and John LeClair for the Flyers, the rivalry between these two teams has been intense when both teams are competing.
Flyers – Penguins Historical Trades
Unsurprisingly, the Flyers and Penguins are rarely trade partners. However, they have had a pretty massive deal in their history. On Feb. 19, 1992, the Penguins sent forward Mark Recchi, defenseman Brian Benning and a 1992 first-round draft pick to the Flyers in exchange for forward Rick Tocchet, defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, goaltender Ken Wregget and a 1992 third-round draft selection.
When trading star players, it’s rare for a deal to be classified as a win for both sides. However, this was the case here. Tocchet hit it off with the Penguins and won a Stanley Cup only a few months after the trade occurred. Tocchet only lasted for three years in Pittsburgh, but their championship made it worth the price.
For the Flyers, Recchi recorded what stands as the most points in regular-season history for the team in 1993, with a total of 123 points. In 602 games with the team, he scored 232 goals and recorded 395 assists for 627 points. He still stands as one of the greatest Flyers of all time.
Flyers – Penguins Regular Season Clashes
One of the main reasons why the Penguins and Flyers became such fierce rivals from the mid-2000s and onward was because of the existence of Crosby. The Penguins landed a franchise star in the draft that would completely change their history. In just his second game against the Flyers, Crosby showed Philadelphia what they should expect out of him in his NHL career.
In Philadelphia, Crosby was not treated with kindness. Flyers’ defenseman Derian Hatcher put a hit on Crosby that bloodied him and sent him to the ice. What upset Crosby was that there was no penalty on the play. He knew that he would have to take justice in his own hands, so he did just that. In regulation, Crosby recorded a goal and an assist on the Penguins’ only two goals. In overtime, no other player but him could win the game and silence the Flyers’ crowd. At just 19 years of age, the future captain of the Penguins was doing the unthinkable.
In the midst of a race for the playoffs, the Flyers and Penguins both met in what is now known as PPG Paints Arena to solidify their standing. With the Flyers leading the game by a score of 6-3 with a minute remaining in the third period, the game was nearing its end. During this time period, Penguins forward Joe Vitale threw Flyers’ forward Daniel Briere a big hit at center ice that sent him falling. The Flyers came to the defense of their veteran forward and a brawl ensued.
The uncanny part of all this was not the brawl, but that Flyers’ head coach Peter Laviolette got on top of the bench and was screaming at Penguins’ coach Dan Bylsma, who was also on top of his bench. Laviolette went past the glass that separates the two benches and let Bylsma know his frustrations with only a few feet of separation.
The most ironic part about the situation is that the person holding Laviolette back so he wouldn’t go over to the Penguins’ bench was assistant head coach Craig Berube, one of the premier enforcers in Flyers’ history during his playing days.
In one of the more recent installments of the rivalry, the Flyers and Penguins settled their differences outdoors. This was the second time the two teams met outdoors, with the first being a 4-2 victory for the Penguins in 2017.
For their 2019 matchup, the game was at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. After the Penguins led 3-1 late in the third period, the Flyers began a comeback that sent the game to overtime for a fantastic finish. In that overtime, Giroux penetrated through the Penguins’ blue line and fired a shot that snuck past goaltender Matt Murray to complete the comeback.
In the end, this victory was very sentimental for the Flyers because it was the last time veteran forward Wayne Simmonds would play for them — a player that resonated well with the fans and team.
Flyers – Penguins Playoff Drama
It took a while for the Flyers and Penguins to start meeting in the playoffs, given the Penguins’ struggles early in their history. They finally met in 1989, and the series did not disappoint.
Lemieux and the Penguins gave all they could to the Flyers, but Philadelphia had the more well-rounded roster and defeated the Penguins in seven. This was a series filled with offense, where Lemieux for the Penguins and Tim Kerr for the Flyers combined for 19 goals in the series by themselves.
With the Flyers rebuilding during the early 1990s, the two teams did not meet again until the 1997 Playoffs rolled around. While the Penguins were coming off of consecutive Stanley Cup championships a few years prior, the Flyers were led by one of the best lines in league history in the Legion of Doom at this point. The team ended the Penguins in just five games en route to a Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia met for the first time in the new millennium with a trip to the 2000 Eastern Conference Final in the balance. Despite the unavailability of Lemieux, the Penguins gave the Flyers everything they had. After losing the first two games of the series at home, the Flyers found themselves in a hole. Back-to-back overtime winning goals including a five-overtime thriller in Game 4 by Keith Primeau got the Flyers even in the series. The Penguins’ Game 4 loss proved to be the end of them, and they did not win another game in the series.
In the 2008 Playoffs, the Flyers and Penguins faced off in the Eastern Conference Final in what was poised to be the most important matchup they have ever had. The Flyers, coming off of a league-worst record in 2007, were definite underdogs in this series. It played out the way one would expect, with the star-studded Penguins led by Crosby and Malkin taking the series from the Flyers in five games. While they did not win the Stanley Cup, this series was a vital, yet somewhat forgettable, piece in the lore of these teams.
In 2009, the teams rematched in a highly anticipated series. We saw much of the same for the Flyers, this time losing in six games. The Penguins went on to win their first championship of the Crosby era that same year, so the Flyers were kicking themselves even if they were highly outmatched.
The 2012 Playoffs was one of the very few times where you could argue that both of these teams were equal in what they could bring to the table. The Flyers finally had their superstar in Giroux, and were ready to compete with an experienced Penguins’ roster in their first-round matchup. This series would be the most intense of them all, and helped redefine the rivalry between the teams. The Flyers took the first two games on the road despite sacrificing eight goals in the process, and went on to win Game 3 as well. This is where some of the drama began.
Related: Reliving the Flyers & Penguins 2012 Playoff Series
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The Flyers began to pull away in the game, and that’s when the Penguins started to become desperate to get back in the series. Shortly after the Flyers went up 3-1 in the game, there was a battle after the whistle in front of the Flyers’ net that eventually led to forward Jakub Voracek’s glove falling off. As he went to pick it up, Crosby knocked it away. A brawl ensued as a result.
With the Flyers leading 7-4 late in the third period, Penguins’ forward James Neal laid out a 19-year-old Sean Couturier, which aggravated the team. Neal later took a run at Giroux, and another brawl occurred as the Flyers were fed up with Pittsburgh’s style of play. After the Penguins lost the game, captain Crosby had this to say about Philadelphia:
“I don’t like them. I don’t like any guy on their team.”
Crosby on his Game 3 antics against the Flyers
After the Penguins won back-to-back games, this set up a Game 6 in Philadelphia. For the Flyers, Giroux answered the call on his first shift after not only registering a hit that sent Crosby to the ice, but also registering a goal. The Penguins were never truly close in the game, and that ended one of the most incredible series in playoff history. In total, the series had 56 goals split among the two teams, which is tied for eighth most in NHL history.
What was also notable is that Giroux registered 14 points in the series, which is tied for 11th most for a player in a single series. This matchup helped grow the rivalry between Giroux and the Penguins, as there was justified debate that Giroux could be better than Crosby one day. It may seem silly now, but that was a legitimate belief that was backed up by their performances at that point.
In their most recent series against one another, the Penguins were coming off consecutive Stanley Cups and were ready to pounce on the Flyers in 2018. Philadelphia put up a fight, but were defeated in six games by Pittsburgh. Crosby once again led the Penguins in their crusade with 13 points, further establishing his legacy as a playoff performer.
Future of the Rivalry
In the past, whenever Pittsburgh and Philadelphia played each other, it was always a game where any NHL fan would want to tune in to. The same might not be true now with the stars from the height of their rivalry aging or retired, but the two teams will always have some sort of animosity for one another once again. In the future, we can only hope that each team acquires a star that will spark a new rendition of the Keystone State rivalry.