One of the best rivalries in hockey – and one of the best sports rivalries, period – is the rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins and Flyers both came into the NHL at the same time, and they both have employed numerous Hockey Hall-of-Famers.
But this coming season, the Flyers and Penguins rivalry may ratchet up to a new level, which is due to numerous factors.
It’s true that the division the Pens and Flyers play in, the Metropolitan Division, could be the league’s weakest. Combined with the fact that the Atlantic Division is so tough and it could send five teams to the Stanley Cup playoffs, it could leave only three teams from the Metro who get into the playoffs.
So, with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes likely a lock to get into the playoffs, and with the new-look Washington Capitals appearing extremely strong, there’s every possibility the rest of the Metro teams are going to be fighting it out for the final playoff berth. That means it could be the Flyers who push the Penguins out of the playoff picture, or the converse.
Rivalries still matter in hockey, and that is why there are real consequences for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh depending on the outcome of their battles.
That said, the current battle of Pennsylvania has the Penguins in two very different places in the competitive cycle. The Flyers have been in a full rebuild, and they’re a team on the rise. The Penguins, on the other hand, are currently clinging to the last vestiges of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era.
The Penguins are now trying to wring the last drops of juice out of their aging roster.
Thus, the competitive window for the Flyers is opening, and the competitive window for the Penguins is closing. The Penguins and Flyers might be in the fight for a playoff spot all season long, but the Flyers addressed their goaltending by acquiring former Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Joseph Woll. If Woll stays healthy, which is not a guarantee, Philadelphia can not only get into the playoffs with a solid tandem, but they can win playoff games.
Meanwhile, the Penguins have also restocked their roster this summer, picking up solid forwards in Andrei Kuzmenko, Nick Robertson, Hendrix Lapierre and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. But the Pens are still very much like a team that’s deflating and not inflating.
Pittsburgh’s foundation of Crosby and Malkin will only be around for a short period of time, so the Penguins have all kinds of pressure on themselves to make hay. At the same time, the sun shines, and the Flyers can continue being patient as they slowly, painstakingly add top talent.
All of this is to say that the Battle of Pennsylvania is going to be fantastic this coming season. If you’ve been through a sports rivalry, you know there’s always going to be one team in particular you want never to win a Cup.
That’s what you have with the Flyers/Penguins rivalry. There’s genuine bad blood between certain teams and their fans. So long as it doesn’t boil over into overly-aggressive behavior, we’re all for this Pittsburgh/Philadelphia rivalry reaching new heights.
But the Penguins and Flyers can’t be caught up only on each other. The New Jersey Devils will always remain a threat with hyper-skilled players like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been a team on the cusp of breaking through, and the New York Rangers and New York Islanders have the pieces and coaches to surprise some teams.
Indeed, the Penguins and Flyers are the strongest contenders for the third playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division; they have their fair share of opponents that need to be monitored.