Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, right, reacts behind Philadelphia Flyers' Luke Glendening after scoring during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, center, celebrates with Evgeni Malkin, left, and Rickard Rakell after scoring during the first period of Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang, right, tries to get past Philadelphia Flyers' Cam York during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Philadelphia Flyers' Denver Barkey, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Noah Cates, right, collide during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)1 / 5Penguins Flyers HockeyPittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, right, reacts behind Philadelphia Flyers' Luke Glendening after scoring during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)1 / 5Penguins Flyers HockeyPittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, right, reacts behind Philadelphia Flyers' Luke Glendening after scoring during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)2 / 5Penguins Flyers HockeyPittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, center, celebrates with Evgeni Malkin, left, and Rickard Rakell after scoring during the first period of Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)3 / 5Penguins Flyers HockeyPittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang, right, tries to get past Philadelphia Flyers' Cam York during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)4 / 5Penguins Flyers HockeyPhiladelphia Flyers' Denver Barkey, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)5 / 5Penguins Flyers HockeyPittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin, left, and Philadelphia Flyers' Noah Cates, right, collide during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)DAN GELSTONSun, April 26, 2026 at 3:04 AM UTC·1 min readPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each scored goals and the three-time Stanley Cup champion teammates are headed back to Pittsburgh after they helped the Penguins avoid a first-round series sweep with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 on Saturday night.
Rickard Rakell also scored, and Connor Dewar sealed the win with a late empty-netter for the Penguins. Penguins coach Dan Muse made the right call with the season on the line to bench starting goalie Stuart Skinner in favor of Arturs Silovs.
The 38-year-old Crosby, a career-long foil for the Flyers, not only scored his first goal of the series, but he also set a savvy screen in the third period on defenseman Travis Sanheim that allowed Letang to have a clean look when he ripped his first goal of the series past Dan Vladar for a 3-1 lead.
The goal was crucial after Travis Konecny scored to make it 3-2 and ignite the “Let's go Flyers!” chants that had largely been dormant with the Flyers down early.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl