Penguins-Flyers playoff history: All-time record and more on NHL rivalry between division foes

Penguins-Flyers playoff history: All-time record and more on NHL rivalry between division foes originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

One of the NHL's most heated rivalries is being reignited for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will be meeting in the playoffs for the "Battle of Pennsylvania," a rivalry that dates back into the 1960s.

While the Flyers' return to the playoffs after five years away has prevented the return of the matchup, it's now set to be a center-stage meeting in the 2026 first round — and with a history of tension between the sides, it wouldn't be surprising to see some heated action.

Here's a full look at the playoff history between the Flyers and Penguins.

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Penguins vs. Flyers playoff record

Historically, this has been one of the most neck-and-neck playoff rivalries in the NHL. Entering their 2026 series, the Flyers have just a one-win advantage over the Penguins.

Philadelphia has gone 21-20 in its 41 playoff matchups against Pittsburgh dating back to 1989.

As for series wins, the Flyers also have a narrow advantage, beating the Penguins in four of the seven playoff matchups the teams have had.

Penguins vs. Flyers all-time record

• 190–126–30–14 (Flyers)

Philadelphia also owns the historic advantage in the all-time series, including the regular season, against the Penguins.

The longest win streak in the history of the rivalry is 11 wins in a row from the Flyers. 

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Last time Penguins vs. Flyers played in playoffs

Prior to their 2026 first-round series, the Penguins and Flyers last met in the 2018 first round, when Pittsburgh won the series 4-2.

At the time, the Penguins were the two-time defending champions, finishing second in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers, who finished third in the division, provided some optimism at taking down the champions with a Game 2 victory, but they then fell down 3-1 in the series and ultimately lost in six games.

Pittsburgh went on to lose to the eventual-champion Capitals in the second round, while the Flyers would have a five-year playoff drought after the 2020 season, when they lost in the second round.

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How many times have Penguins vs. Flyers played in playoffs?

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have now met eight times in the Stanley Cup playoffs with their 2026 meeting.

The Flyers hold the playoff series advantage at 4-3 entering the 2026 matchup, but the Penguins have won three of the last four series.

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1989 division finals: Flyers win, 4-3

Series summary

The first time the "Battle of Pennsylvania" came in the playoffs was in 1989, with the Flyers beating the Capitals in the first round and the Penguins taking down the Rangers in the first round to set up a second-round meeting.

The series went to the brink at seven games — Mario Lemieux dominated Game 5 with eight points by himself, and the Flyers came back from a two-goal deficit in Game 6 to force a decisive matchup. And in Game 7, the Flyers came through to move on even with their starting goalie, Ron Hextall, going down with an injury — Ken Wregget stepped in with 39 saves. 

Philadelphia would go on to lose to the Canadiens in the conference finals. 

Key players

The Penguins had the luxury of the league's leading scorer at the time, Lemieux, who put up 85 goals and 114 assists in the regular season before posting nine goals and five assists in the series. However, Philadelphia got contributions from throughout its roster.

In the series, Tim Kerr had 10 goals and five assists, Mark Howe had nine assists, and Brian Propp totaled six goals and five assists. Hextall also had a .861 save percentage in-goal for the Flyers before Wregget came in clutch in Game 7.

Notable stats

Philadelphia had four short-handed goals in the seven-game series, including one in its 4-1 Game 7 win.

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1997 conference quarterfinals: Flyers win, 4-1

Series summary

Eight years after their first playoff meeting against the Penguins, the Flyers handled business more steadily in the first round of the 1997 playoffs.

Philadelphia, after going 45-24-13 in the regular season, took down a Pittsburgh team that went 38-36-8 but led the NHL in scoring, with Lemieux aging but leading the team to a Game 4 win after falling behind 3-0. Game 5 of the series was Lemieux's last in the NHL.

After winning this series in five games, the Flyers went on to get swept by the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final.

Key players

For Philadelphia, Eric Lindros' three goals and six assists led the way — with all three goals coming in Game 3 for a hat trick — while goaltender Garth Snow had a .906 save percentage and went 4-1 in the series.

Wregget, who played for the Flyers in the previous playoff series between the teams, allowed 18 goals over the five games. Jaromir Jagr (four goals, four assists) and Lemieux (three goals, three assists) led the Penguins' offense.

Notable stats

Once again, the Flyers' depth was on display. Five different Philadelphia players scored multiple goals in the series, while Pittsburgh only got multiple goals from Jagr and Lemieux.

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2000 conference semifinals: Flyers win, 4-2

Series summary

Philadelphia led the Atlantic Division in 1999-2000, going 45-22-12-3 before beating the Sabres in the first round. As for Pittsburgh, it finished the regular season at 37-31-8-6, but took down Washington in the first round.

This 2000 matchup resulted in a third-straight Flyers playoff series win over the Penguins, with Pittsburgh claiming the first two games, but a Game 4 win flipping the script for Philadelphia. After 152 minutes, Keith Primeau had the game-winner in the fifth overtime frame, stunning the Pittsburgh crowd after one of the longest games ever.

24 years ago today Keith Primeau scored the game winning goal vs the penguins in 5OT during the 2000 playoffs🔥🔥

Who stayed up for this one ? 😅

pic.twitter.com/Ja5iOq8lgw

— Coots (@YaBoyCoots) May 4, 2024

Philadelphia proceeded to win the series with its 2-1 win in Game 6, and then went on to fall in seven games to the Devils in the conference finals.

Key players

Mark Recchi had two goals and six assists in the series for Philadelphia, while Primeau had the Game 4 overtime winner and goaltender Brian Boucher put up a .920 save percentage with 14 goals allowed against the Penguins over six games.

In Pittsburgh's losing effort, Martin Straka had two goals and six assists in the series, while Jagr had five goals and an assist with Ron Tugnutt going 2-4 in-goal with a .941 save percentage.

Notable stats

The 92-minutes of overtime Game 4 remains one of the longest playoff games in NHL history. It trails only a 1936 matchup between the Red Wings and Maroons that went 116 minutes of overtime and a 1933 matchup between the Bruins and Maple Leafs that had 104 minutes of overtime.

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2008 conference finals: Penguins win, 4-1

Series summary

With the stakes as high as ever for the Penguins-Flyers rivalry, a trip to the Stanley Cup Final was on the line in 2008. This time, Pittsburgh finally broke through with a win over Philadelphia in the playoffs — and it wasn't a very close series.

The Penguins went 47-27-8 in the regular season, finishing first in the Atlantic Division, then took down the Senators and Rangers in the playoffs. The Flyers were fourth in the Atlantic Division at 42-29-11, but beat the Capitals and Canadiens to reach the conference finals.

Pittsburgh took the series in a gentleman's sweep, including a 6-0 shutout in Game 5 to clinch its Stanley Cup Finals berth. However, the Penguins then lost to the Red Wings in six games.

Key players

This was the first of many Sidney Crosby playoff series against the Flyers. He had two goals and five assists in the series, while Marian Hossa led the way for Pittsburgh with four goals and five assists. In the net, Marc-Andre Fleury went 4-1 with a .939 save percentage and the Game 5 shutout.

Philadelphia, outside of a Game 4 win, was quiet throughout the series; Joffrey Lupul had two goals and two assists, while Martin Biron went 1-4 in-goal with a .876 save percentage.

Notable stats

A whopping 16 different Penguins players had at least one point in the five-game series. The Penguins outscored the Flyers 18-6 in the series.

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2009 conference quarterfinals: Penguins win, 4-2

Series summary

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were the second- and third-ranked teams in the 2008-09 Atlantic Division standings, respectively, and they met in the first round of the playoffs.

For the second-straight year, the Penguins took the playoff matchup, this time in six games. They took a 3-1 series lead, and while the Flyers did put up more of a fight than 2008 by claiming a 3-0 shutout in Game 5, they blew a 3-0 advantage in Game 6 to lose the series. Max Talbot started a fight with Daniel Carcillo in the matchup, and Crosby's empty-net goal late sealed it.

Pittsburgh went on to win the Stanley Cup, beating the Capitals, Hurricanes and Red Wings in the rest of its path.

Key players

Crosby had four goals and four assists in the series, while Evgeni Malkin posted nine points and Fleury went 4-2 with a .922 save percentage in-goal.

For the Flyers, Giroux and Mike Richards each totaled five points in the series.

Notable stats

The Penguins had five unanswered goals in Game 6, including two from Crosby, to win the series.

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2012 conference quarterfinals: Flyers win, 4-2

Series summary

Facing off in the playoffs for the third time in five years, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were once again second and third in the Atlantic Division standings, respectively, before their first-round matchup in 2012. The Penguins owned the highest-scoring unit in the NHL.

This was arguably the most physical of all the Penguins-Flyers playoff series. Both sides dealt with heavy penalty minutes, especially in an 8-4 Flyers win in Game 3, with plenty of fights.

The Penguins won Game 4 in overtime, but Philadelphia got some get-back for its 2008-09 losses, taking the series 4-2 behind Giroux's standout performances and a 5-1 series-clinching win in Game 6 at home. 

The Flyers, however, lost to the Devils 4-1 in the next round.

Key players

Giroux had a huge series with six goals and eight assists for 14 points, while Daniel Briere also chipped in five goals and three assists. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov played in all six games, recording an .871 save percentage.

Jordan Staal led the way for Pittsburgh with six goals and three assists, while Crosby posted three goals and five assists. Fleury had a .834 save percentage for the Penguins in the series.

Notable stats

Former Penguin Jaromir Jagr came up big for the Flyers in the series, with six assists against his old squad in the playoffs. The teams also combined for an NHL-record 45 goals in the first four games of the series.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh combined for 309 penalty minutes, including 158 in Game 4 alone, throughout the series.

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2018 first round: Penguins win, 4-2

Series summary

For their third-straight postseason matchup in the first round, the Penguins were their division's second-ranked team, while the Flyers were third — this time, as members of the Metropolitan Division.

The Penguins, as the two-time defending champions, won the series in six games behind Crosby, Jake Guentzel and more. Game 1 was a 7-0 blowout for Pittsburgh, while the Flyers bounced-back with a 5-1 win in Game 2, but that was about all the momentum Philadelphia got.

Pittsburgh coasted to wins in Games 3 and 4, while in Game 5, Sean Couturier had a game-winning goal with just over a minute left in regulation for the Flyers. However, in Game 6, Guentzel shined in the clinching victory scoring four-straight goals in the second and third periods in an 8-5 win.

Pittsburgh went on to lose to the eventual-champion Capitals in the next round.

Key players

Crosby put up six goals and seven assists, both figures that were matched by Guentzel. The Penguins also got solid goalie play from Matt Murray, who went 4-2 with a .911 save percentage and 13 goals allowed.

On the other side, Sean Couturier had five goals and four assists for Philadelphia. 

Notable stats

Pittsburgh dominated the power-play in the series, scoring 10 goals with the man advantage, while the Flyers had just four.

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Penguins vs. Flyers playoff results

Here's a look at the full playoff history between the Flyers and Penguins.

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