Flyers' Alex Bump Bumps Matvei Michkov, Earns Praise From Tocchet In Loss

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered their second straight loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and, suddenly, we have a close playoff series between these hated, cross-state rivals.

The Penguins, getting a fluke goal for what turned out to be the game-winner late in the second period, outlasted the visiting Flyers 3-2 and forced a Game 6 on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Philly leads the series 3-2.

With Matvei Michkov Benched, The Flyers' Offense Sputtered

The Philadelphia Flyers have been figured out by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Matvei Michkov is set up to play the hero after a dire team performance without him in Game 5.

It will be interesting to see if Michkov returns to the lineup Wednesday and if he replaces Tyson Foerster, who has no points in the series and has no goals and one assist over his last nine games, including the regular season.

The Penguins snapped a 2-2 tie late in the second when Kris Letang's long shot caromed off the boards and bounced off goaltender Dan Vladar and into the net.

"An unfortunate bounce," Vladar said.

The Penguins used that bounce and a tight defense in the third period to produce their second straight win in the series. Now they need two more victories to become the fifth team in NHL history to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.

"Throughout the season, we've been in different situations, and I think we've done a great job of handling adversity," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said after his two-assist game. "It doesn't get any easier; we know it's a big challenge going in there (Philadelphia), but we have a lot of belief."

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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 5:20 AM.