10 highlights from the Flyers-Penguins rivalry, from Keith Primeau’s OT heroics to hatred for Sidney Crosby

by Gustav Elvin
Published April 17, 2026, 9:01 a.m. ET

Listen to article • 0:00 min

Pennsylvania will once again be a state divided by rivalry this week as the Flyers and the Penguins face off in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The best-of-seven series will mark the eighth time Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have locked horns on the ice and the first since 2018.

Whether your affinity is for orange and black or black and gold, or you’re Team Wawa or Team Sheetz, there is one thing all Keystone Staters can agree on: “The Battle of Pennsylvania” tends to bring out the best — and sometimes the worst — in one another.

Advertisement

Here’s a chronological look back at 10 of the best, worst, and wildest moments from one of hockey’s most heated rivalries, with the Flyers holding a 190-126-30-14 record in the series, including playoffs.

Stanley Cup playoffs: Flyers vs. Penguins

Game 1: Flyers at Penguins, 8 p.m. Saturday, NBCSP/ESPN
Game 2: Flyers at Penguins, 7 p.m. Monday, NBCSP/ESPN
Game 3: Penguins at Flyers, 7 p.m. Wednesday, NBCSP/TNT/truTV/HBO MAX
Game 4: Penguins at Flyers, 8 p.m. April 25, NBCSP/TBS/truTV/HBO MAX
*Game 5: Flyers at Penguins, April 27 (Time TBD)
*Game 6: Penguins at Flyers, April 29 (Time TBD)
*Game 7: Flyers at Penguins, May 2 (Time TBD)

» READ MORE: Flyers-Penguins playoff series will start Saturday night

While the Flyers-Penguins rivalry began in 1967, the teams didn’t have many consequential games early on as both teams tried to find their footing after expansion. The rivalry became a rarer occurrence as the Pens and Flyers played in different divisions from 1975 to 1982. But during this period, the Flyers put together one of the most dominant — and frankly unfathomable — runs in NHL history. Between Feb. 7, 1974, and Feb. 2, 1989, the Flyers went 42 games unbeaten against the Penguins at the Spectrum. During that 15-year streak, the Flyers went 39-0-3 at home vs. their in-state rivals.

» READ MORE: Flyers vs. Penguins: Key matchups, X-factors, and predictions for the first-round playoff series

The Flyers and Penguins finally faced off in the playoffs for the first time in 1989, and the series didn’t disappoint, going seven games. They alternated wins through the first six contests. Mario Lemieux’s five-goal, eight-point Game 5 should have gotten all the headlines, but many fans will remember a different moment that proved a turning point in the series.

After Rob Brown celebrated a tap-in from Lemieux to make it 9-3, Flyers goalie Rob Hextall, who ran notoriously hot, took exception and started chasing Brown around the rink like a bull in Pamplona. Hextall received a 10-minute misconduct and was replaced by Ken Wregget. The Flyers scored the next four goals to make things interesting in a 10-7 defeat before winning the final two games of the series to advance.

Hextall later served as GM of both franchises, with those tenures not remembered fondly. Maybe Flyers and Penguins fans agree on two things after all …

Lemieux was a thorn in almost every team’s side during his prolific NHL career, with the Flyers one of his favorite opponents. But for as much vitriol as Philly fans directed at Lemieux and the Penguins over the years, on March 2, 1993, they put rivalry aside for a touching moment that transcended sports.

» READ MORE: After 13 years and 820 games, Rasmus Ristolainen says it ‘feels good’ to finally make the playoffs

The result was a loud standing ovation at the Spectrum before puck drop for the visiting Lemieux, who was returning to the ice after missing 23 games while being treated for cancer. A teary-eyed Lemieux, who had completed his last cancer treatment that morning, lifted his stick in appreciation of the fans before scoring a goal and an assist in a Flyers win.

Four years later, Flyers fans showed their class and respect for Lemieux again by giving the retiring rival another standing ovation, this time after the Flyers eliminated the Penguins from the playoffs.

Flyers and Penguins fans had to put in overtime — five of them to be exact — on May 4, 2000, to see a conclusion to Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. But those weary eyes the next day at work were a small token to pay for fans of the Orange and Black who stayed up and witnessed Keith Primeau’s overtime winner at 2:35 in the morning. The goal, which came in the fifth overtime and after 152 minutes, one second of action, tied the series for Philadelphia. Flyers defenseman Dan McGillis, who assisted on Primeau’s goal, played a game-high 61:05, which remains the longest in modern NHL history and the third longest ever.

Sidney Crosby doesn’t like the Flyers. The Flyers don’t like Crosby. That has been the case since Crosby’s first game against the Flyers — and fifth career NHL game — on Oct. 14, 2005. Crosby tallied a goal and an assist in that game, perfectly setting the stage for a career that has tormented the Flyers to the tune of 60 goals and 139 points in 93 regular-season games (1.49 points per game). Crosby has been even more of a Flyers killer in the playoffs, racking up 15 goals and 36 points in 23 games (1.57 ppg). Sid the Kid’s Penguins have also won three of the previous four playoff series he’s been a part of vs. Philly and have hoisted three Stanley Cups since 2009.

In 2008, the Flyers and Penguins faced off with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line for the first time. The Flyers, who were seeking their first Cup appearance since 1997, were dealt a tough blow before the series as defenseman Kimmo Timonen was diagnosed with a blood clot. They lost another defenseman, Braydon Coburn, in Game 2 to facial injuries after he was hit by a deflected puck. The Penguins took advantage and cruised to a 4-1 series win.

» READ MORE: Chris Pronger on his time in Philly, his impressions of the 2025-26 Flyers, and his new book: ‘Earned’

While “The Shift” will always belong to Mike Richards thanks to his exploits against Montreal in 2010, Claude Giroux did his best imitation in the 2012 first-round series against the Pens. In what proved to be a clinching Game 6 in Philadelphia, Giroux fired up the home fans right from the puck drop by knocking Crosby from his skates with a bone-crushing hit just five seconds in. Twenty-seven ticks later, Giroux had the fans in a frenzy after scoring with a wicked wrister that made an audible ding of the post. The captain, who finished with three points, set the tone for a 5-1 Flyers win.

The 2012 first-round series between the Flyers and Penguins remains one of the wackiest in NHL history. After a 4-3 OT win by the Flyers in Game 1, capped by a Jakub Voráček winner, things went completely off the rails. Game 2 saw the goaltenders allow 12 goals on 58 shots (.793 save percentage), including several laughers, in an 8-5 Flyers win, before the teams combined for 12 goals, a handful of fights, and 158 combined penalty minutes in a Game 3 that you had to see to believe. The result was a 3-0 series lead for the Flyers, who would win it in six games, but not before Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky combined to allow 10 goals in a Game 4 loss at home. The teams combined for 45 goals and 309 penalty minutes across the first four games, setting an NHL record for most goals in the first four games of a series.

By 2017, the Flyers and Penguins rivalry had seemingly seen it all. Well, not quite. Next came outdoor games at football stadiums, with the Pens hosting their rivals at Heinz Field in 2017, and the Flyers returning the favor two years later at the Linc. The spectacle at the Linc provided some memorable fireworks, as the Flyers rallied from 3-1 down with just over three minutes to go to tie it. Giroux sent the Philly Phaithful home happy, squeaking the OT winner through Matt Murray. The game proved to be beloved power forward Wayne Simmonds’ last as a Flyer.

In the most recent playoff series between the two teams, some Flyers fans took their disgust for Crosby to a new place: the urinals of the Wells Fargo Center. Placing pictures of Crosby at the bottom of urinals before Game 3 for fans to urinate on them was a crass and ultimately futile exercise. Crosby scored the opening goal and put up four points as the Penguins got the last laugh in a 5-1 win. They won the series in six games.