Sidney Crosby’s Penguins showing exact way they’re going to pull off unthinkable 3-0 comeback vs. Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs as favorites against their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, however, didn’t view it that way, as they went on a 17-6-1 run after the Olympic break to clinch the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers showed early they were the better team, rallying for three consecutive wins to take a 3-0 series lead, leaving Sidney Crosby and the Penguins staring at an impossible comeback.

If there’s one thing that hockey fans have learned over the last 21 seasons, it’s that Crosby is one player you can never count out. The hockey-mad captain with an unrelenting drive to win can make diamonds out of even the worst situations, and he’s attempting to do it again in these playoffs. If you thought Crosby was going to let one of his last opportunities to win a Stanley Cup with Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang slip by, you’re sadly mistaken.

Crosby has taken over the series in Games 4 and 5, recording a goal and an assist in Game 4, before adding two assists in Game 5. The fifth game was an eventful one for Crosby, as he exited the game with an injury, returned and recorded an assist on his first shift back, and then added another on the winning goal.

It is still an uphill climb for Pittsburgh, with a Game 6 in hostile Philadelphia on the horizon, but if they win that one, they’ll only have a Game 7 at home remaining, where anything can happen. While Crosby’s heroics and leadership are the talking point after Games 4 and 5, it hasn’t just been the captain who has stepped up.

Crosby says Penguins ‘looked like our team’ in Game 4

The Flyers are playing a physical, some may say ‘dirty’ brand of hockey during this series. In a nod to the Broad Street Bullies of old, Philadelphia is trying to wear its opponents down by scrumming it up after every whistle and getting into a special teams battle, which doesn’t really fit the way the Penguins play.

The Penguins, through the first three games, tried to go toe-to-toe with the Flyers by beating them at their own game. They used up all their energy and focus on being physical presences, and got away from the thing that made them the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division. The players were aware of that and attempted to change it for Game 4, according to NHL.com’s Michelle Crechiolo.

“The first three games, we kind of got into the same kind of slow game and scrum it out every time,” said Letang, who scored the game-winner in Game 5. “Obviously, the playoffs is a different energy, but Games 4 and 5, we’re playing with pace, and that’s what we did all year. The way we hold onto pucks offensively, we’re not one-and-done on the rush. We’re sustaining zone time, and it’s hard to defend. So, we have to keep doing that.”

It’s one thing to do it for two games, but getting these final two wins won’t be easy for the Penguins. There is a reason why only four teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 deficit. However, with everything Sidney Crosby has accomplished in his career, why wouldn’t he add one more accolade and captain the fifth team to ever pull off the historic feat?

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