Well, folks, we officially have ourselves a series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made the trip back to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Monday after a gutsy Game 4 win that finally put a dent into that 3-0 series lead for the Philadelphia Flyers. Like Game 4, it was do-or-die, as they had to come away with the "W" in order to survive.

And after Monday's game, that small dent has become quite a bit larger.

The Penguins put on a defensive clinic in the third period to best the Flyers, 3-2, and force Game 6 in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Goaltender Arturs Silovs - despite allowing a goal he'd probably want back - was strong yet again, stopping 18 of 20 Flyers' shots on goal and, for the most part, coming up big when he had to.

It is also the second-straight game where the Penguins have locked down defensively in the third period, and head coach Dan Muse gives credit to the Penguins' ability to largely maintain possession of the puck, even late in both games with the empty net.

"I think you us giving up less there in both of the third periods, which I think it's a credit to the group," Muse said. "Just being able to make sure in the tight games, I think it's important, too - and I thought for the most part, we did a good job - but we still want to make plays. You don't want to just be throwing pucks away. The more you can be in the offensive zone and have possession, that's always the best defense.

"Overall, the guys did a really good job at the end of the games that we've won."

The Penguins opened up the scoring pretty early in this one despite the Flyers getting some early opportunities. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon dumped the puck into the zone, and Anthony Mantha won the footrace to it behind the net as well as the battle for the puck. He quickly and decisively found Elmer Soderblom breaking into the slot, and Soderblom put home the Penguins' first shot of the game to give them a 1-0 lead.

Give it up for Glue Guy's first-ever playoff goal 🙌 pic.twitter.com/AjLCbPCMHe

— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 27, 2026

Pittsburgh controlled most of the first period, and that continued in the early stages of the second, when the team's third line had a good shift where they maintained possession of the puck. That continued with the fourth line, and toward the end of their shift, Blake Lizotte fed Sidney Crosby - fresh off the bench - and he found Connor Dewar breaking down the left side.

Dewar fired a top-shelf snipe to the upper-left corner of the net, hitting the back bar and coming out just as fast as it went in. The Penguins realized they scored right away - even if the officials didn't - and after a short gathering, they confirmed the goal, which put the Penguins up, 2-0, just over three minutes into the second period.

We would once again, like to remind you...YOU CAN'T OUTDO THE DEWAR. pic.twitter.com/Lh60gSqLU3

— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 28, 2026

However, things got a bit dicey when the Flyers responded just 12 seconds later. Alex Bump - taking the place of young Flyers' forward Matvei Michkov in the lineup - broke down the right side and gained positional advantage, and he put a puck on net that somehow found its way through Silovs's five-hole and into the net to cut into the Penguins' lead.

From there, much of the middle frame was played in the neutral zone, with each team not giving the other a ton of space. Later in the period, Sidney Crosby absorbed a heavy blast from teammate Ryan Shea - he later confirmed he was okay - and briefly went down the runway.

Right upon his return to the bench, Travis Sanheim shot a puck from the left side that went through traffic and deflected off the stick of Erik Karlsson, going behind Silovs and tying the game at 2-2.

But the Penguins responded with a goal of their own this time - and they got their lucky bounce as well.

A little more than two minutes later, the Penguins' first line was cycling in the offensive zone, and defenseman Kris Letang floated a puck toward the goal that hit off the stancheon and bounced back toward Vladar. Vladar backed himself onto the goal line - not knowing where it was - and accidentally slid the puck past the goal line to give the Penguins back the 3-2 lead late in the second.

Second of the series for Tanger💪 pic.twitter.com/s5H7Gb6IDY