Penguins’ Connor Clifton opens up on budding rivalry with Flyers, Trevor Zegras

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers have a long history of hatred for each other on the ice, and the rivalry appears to be having a revival of late.

Pittsburgh defenseman Connor Clifton is definitely feeling it right in his very first season in a Penguins uniform.

Although he’s new to Pittsburgh, Clifton is no stranger to the animosity the Penguins and the Flyers have for each other, having watched a lot of Atlantic Division games as a New York Rangers fan growing up.

Before Thursday’s matchup against the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Clifton admitted that the rivalry “kind of changed a little bit this year,” via Josh Yohe of The Athletic.

Clifton also spoke about Flyers star Trevor Zegras, whose antics have certainly added flavor to the rivalry.

“I didn’t like what he did,” Clifton said about Zegras’ actions on Noel Acciari during a brawl after the Pens’ loss to the Flyers on Oct. 28.

“(Acciari) plays the most honest game. A hard, honest game. The scrum is over, and (Zegras) grabs his helmet and then hides behind a guy. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. I wouldn’t have done it. But whatever. I assume we’re over it. But it’s still in your memory.”

It can also be recalled that Zegras, who is a colorful personality, tried to get under Clifton’s skin by head-faking him, as if to coax him into a fight.

The Penguins and the Flyers have split their first two meetings in the 2025-26 NHL regular season, making Friday’s showdown at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Pittsburgh even more interesting.

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