Flyers-Penguins news: Dan Vladař to start as Philly goes for the sweep; Pittsburgh making a change

Shane Temple is 10 years old, a die-hard hockey fan, and sometimes, when the Philadelphia Flyers are on a tear, he takes his shirt off in celebration.

The young fan did just that on Wednesday, five minutes before the Flyers’ chaotic 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was Shane’s first postseason game and his favorite player, 25-year-old Trevor Zegras, had scored his first career playoff goal.

“Insane” is how Shane described the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

If the Flyers win Game 4 tonight and sweep the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philly will move on to face either the Carolina Hurricanes or Ottawa Senators in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

The Hurricanes currently lead the Senators, 3-0, with Game 4 set to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Here's where the Eastern Conference playoffs stand heading into Saturday night ...

Goaltender Arturs Šilovs is expected to start for Pittsburgh in place of Stuart Skinner, who started each of the first three games.

“Decision isn't based on Stu's play, I thought Stu's played really well this series," Penguins head coach Dan Muse told reporters Saturday. "We lost three games, and so decided that we'd make some changes there in the lineup."

Šilovs, who played under Flyers coach Rick Tocchet in Vancouver, put up an .888 save percentage and a 3.07 goals-against average in 39 games played this season, 38 of them starts. Tocchet was the head coach of the Canucks when Šilovs made his NHL debut in February 2023.

Dan Vladař will start for the Flyers in Game 4, Rick Tocchet confirmed Saturday morning.

Despite worries after making contact with Bryan Rust in the net in the third period of Game 3, Tocchet said there was no real concern that Vladař would miss the potential clincher in Game 4.

“Not really,” Tocchet said. “The next day, talking to him and stuff, it was heading in the right direction.”

Flyers fans aren’t letting Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby live down his embellishment penalty in Wednesday’s playoff game. Drivers stuck in rush hour traffic on I-95 North will now have something to chuckle over after one local travel agency erected a billboard ribbing the future Hall of Famer for his “flop.”

The billboard features a photo of Crosby lying face-down on the ice after a high stick from Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway sent him to the ground. Hathaway was given a penalty for the high stick, but Crosby was also subsequently penalized for embellishing the hit, much to the delight of Flyers fans getting their first taste of home playoff hockey in eight years.

On the billboard, located on I-95 Northbound in South Philadelphia between Exit 17 for PA-611/Broad St. and Exit 19 for I-76/Walt Whitman Bridge, the Crosby flop image is framed by a dictionary-style definition of hockey’s embellishment penalty.

The Flyers-Penguins series jumps over to TBS Saturday night, where fans will once again hear a familiar voice on the broadcast.

Brian Boucher, the former Flyers goaltender turned NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst, will be in the booth for TNT tonight alongside Jody Shelley and play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert.

The game will also air on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with Scott Hartnell taking Boucher's place alongside Jim Jackson.