Penguins/Flyers Update: Pens get new lines, Vladar misses practice
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 22: Goaltender Dan Vladar #80 of the Philadelphia Flyers makes a save as Rasmus Ristolainen #55 defends against Rickard Rakell #67 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images Both the Penguins and Flyers took advantage of the extra day off in between games on Friday to get a practice in ahead of Saturday night’s Game 4. Pittsburgh is going back to a successful line, putting Egor Chinakhov back with Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak.
The trio shined towards the end of the year but has gotten little steady work together this series with Rickard Rakell centering Novak and Malkin in the early portion of games, followed by Anthony Mantha playing there last game. The other big changes for the Pens involved swapping out Elmer Soderblom (a healthy scratch in Game 3) for Justin Brazeau. There might be the first switch on the blueline all series, Ilya Solovyov skated with Ryan Shea in the spot that Connor Clifton has been holding down.
#LetsGoPens lines and D-pairs: Rakell-Crosby-Rust Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin Soderblom-Kindel-Mantha Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari Wotherspoon-Karlsson Girard-Letang Shea-Solovyov Graves-Clifton-St. Ivany — Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) April 24, 2026 Over on the other side of the matchup, some goalie drama is brewing. Dan Vladar has had the Pens’ number this series (3-0, 1.
33 GAA, . 946 save%) but hasn’t skated since Game 3. Vladar was checked out on his right arm after Bryan Rust drove to the net in Game 3.
Dan Vladar was in a ton of pain after a play involving Bryan Rust falling onto his outstretched arm, but he's staying in the game 😳🤕 pic. twitter. com/IabxpLRnxh — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 23, 2026 Vladar would give up a goal to Erik Karlsson soon after this event, and was noticeably flexing his hand out for a while.