Penguins fend off elimination again with a 3-2 Game 5 win over Flyers to send series back to Philly
Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) moves the puck against Philadelphia Flyers center Luke Glendening (41) during the third period in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images PITTSBURGH — Connor Dewar, Kris Letang and Elmer Soderblom scored and the Pittsburgh Penguins avoided elimination for the second time in 48 hours with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia in Game 5 of their first-round series on Monday night. Sidney Crosby shook off a shot to his left knee to add two assists for the Penguins, who cut the Flyers’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.
Game 6 is Wednesday in Philadelphia, where the pressure will be on the Flyers to avoid putting themselves in danger of becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to blow a series after winning the first three games. “We know it’s a big challenge going into there,” Crosby said. “But I think we have a lot of belief in our group, and we’ve done it time and time again.
” Alex Bump scored in his playoff debut for Philadelphia, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it on Travis Sanheim’s second goal of the series 15:06 into the second. Crosby, who limped to the bench and then to the training room for treatment minutes earlier after a blast from the point by teammate Ryan Shea appeared to hit the top of his left knee, helped put the Penguins back in front just over two minutes later when he fed the puck to Letang at the top of the Philadelphia zone. Letang sent a shot toward Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar that sailed wide of the net before bouncing back toward Vladar.
The puck smacked off Vladar’s left pad, then his right and across the goal line to give Pittsburgh the lead for good. “Bounces are part of the game,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “But I think you earn them when you’re working and you try to do the right things.
That’s usually when the bounces go your way. ” After four games of mostly low-event hockey, Game 5 started with a frantic pace, a style that favors the Penguins, who finished as the NHL’s third-highest-scoring team during the regular season. That offense went largely missing while Pittsburgh fell into a 3-0 hole.