Penguins Grades: The Turning Point, Referees & an Absolute Breakdown

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Penguins Grades: The Turning Point, Referees & an Absolute Breakdown

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers — Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Dan Kingerski · Pittsburgh Hockey Now

Thu, Apr 23, 2026 ·

14 min read

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PHILADELPHIA —Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty pummeled a 6-foot Penguin mascot, then tossed a limp stuffed Penguin over the balcony as fans roared, and themselves tossed the artificial carcass toward the Pittsburgh Penguins bench. The wildly intense Philly crowd thirstily delighted in the somewhat chilling image, and it was only the start of uncontrollable intensity that resulted in the Penguins squandering their first lead of the series and engaging in a melee that led to a mortally wounding loss to Philadelphia 5-2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena Wednesday.

The Flyers lead the series 3-0 and, barring a comeback that might eclipse that of Lazarus, the Penguins' season will soon be over. And they probably deserve their fate.

The most simple analysis of Game 3 was that the Penguins began with the best of intentions and even proper execution, but lacked the discipline to keep it as the Flyers goaded them into a wrestling match.

"It was like WWE," said Bryan Rust of a wild melee at 4:33 in the second period that changed the game.

Indeed, the turning point of the game was courtesy of the referees in the second period.

"I got elbowed, so I just kind of locked him up, took him to the ground, he tried to kick me, we threw a couple punches back and forth. Not sure why I got extra two (minutes)," Rust explained.

Turning Point

First, the Pittsburgh media's request for a pool reporter to speak with the series supervisor of officials was formally declined.

In the room, the Penguins wouldn't say it, but they felt cheated. They couldn't hide it.

Whether that's accurate is a matter of debate, but it is true they were probably wronged on the important calls. The lack of interference calls when the Flyers are specifically using it as a weapon is another matter.

"I mean, it's very clear that (the Flyers) are looking for (chaos). I don't know how Rusty ends up with the extra (penalty) out of all that," said Crosby .

Overall, the Penguins were undisciplined, if not immature, but also got a lot of help from how the game was officiated, specifically, referees negating a Penguins power play in the second period by calling Penguins captain Sidney Crosby for embellishment after being high-sticked before an offensive zone faceoff. And referees gave the Flyers a power play after an early second period melee started by Flyers forward Travis Konecny elbowing Bryan Rust.

Konecny elbowed Rust and also tried to kick Rust, who had pounded away on him. Neither the elbow nor the kick was called. The kick would have been a major penalty if not a misconduct.

To a man, the Penguins talked about the melee at 4:33 of the second as the where the game turned. A 1-0 lead careened into chaos, and the Penguins' first lead of the series became a 3-1 deficit.

After the brawl, all five Penguins went to the box, which hindered their penalty kill as three of their top PK members, Rust, Erik Karlsson , Connor Dewar went to the box.

"I literally did nothing," noted Karlsson. "It benefited them more than us."

Muse was burning with anger, and he flatly answered questions with a direct stare. When asked when the game changed, Muse stared at the reporter.

"When they put everyone in the box," Muse deadpanned.

"It kind of turned into a bit of a circus there. Not sure why they decided to put five guys in the box on each end," said Crosby. "Yeah. I felt like that kind of changed the momentum … Obviously, we didn't get the kill."

The refs lost control, and the Penguins lost their marbles while the Flyers feigned innocence after the game. Who, them? Play extra-legal? Perish the thought.

"I'll have to watch honestly. I just remember I was on the bottom there. There's a ref on top of me and him," said Konecny. "I'll have to look back, but I don't remember anything too specific."

Kick? What kick?

And then the first embellishment call was the first of Crosby's career. Flyers forward Garnett Hathaway skated past Crosby before a faceoff, as he changed hands on his stick–curiously over his head–he clipped Crosby in the face. Crosby reacted and fell to the ice.

"I don't know how I get an embellishment," Crosby said incredulously. "Yeah, it's hard to understand, but you've got to play through that."

But Muse's fire was still burning.

"We don't have a single embellishment all year. Sidney Crosby doesn't have an embellishment in 21 seasons. So a stick is in his face. They take both of them. I disagree on that strongly," said Muse. "Not one, not one for our team all season. So we didn't come into the series to start. Now, our guys have done a good job with that. And Sid doesn't embellish."

In a way, it was classic Penguins-Flyers hockey, but in another sense, the Penguins were out of their depth trying to match the Flyers, who dragged them into it and beat them with experience. In the process, the Penguins lost their composure. Meanwhile, the Flyers used it to gain momentum.

The Penguins now stand on the precipice of being swept out of the playoffs by a team they could have beaten, and find themselves in this position the result of their own hand.

The Hockey Game

As for the game, for the first time in the series, the Penguins claimed a lead, and they did so with another first: By scoring a power play goal. After a fairly obvious tripping penalty by Sean Couturier that only brought the Philadelphia crowd to a low key bloodthirsty roar, the Penguins' power play showed a competence that it has not in the first two games of the series.

Rust slipped a pass across the crease to Evgeni Malkin (2) who took a couple of whacks to get it across the goal line at 4:18 of the first.

The Penguins had finally broken the Flyers' neutral zone defensive posture, but it was short-lived, as they almost immediately tried to change the game to their open rush After taking a 7-2 lead in shots, the Penguins finished the period with a slim 11-10 advantage but narrowly avoided yielding the tying goal after gifting several high-danger chances.

After scoring, the Penguins seemingly decided they could again play their more open game and abandoned the simplicity that

Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner continued his stellar performance in the series with a few crucial saves.

However, the lead emboldened the Penguins to abandon the simple game they played in the opening minutes, and it was downhill from there. In the second period, not only did the Penguins' game come apart, so, too, did the Penguins separate from any semblance of composure.

The game irrevocably turned with a line brawl at 4:33 of the second period. Flyers forward Travis Konecny elbowed Penguins winger Bryan Rust behind the Penguins' net, and Rust body slammed Konecny and began throwing punches.

Everyone followed suit, but after several calls and changes as referees put players into the penalty box then pulled them out to replace them with others and add more Penguins, which led even Flyers PA announcer Jim Jackson to announce, "The penalties … we think …"

Like too many calls Wednesday, the referees got it wrong, but the Penguins put the referees in a position to do so.

The Flyers got a power play from the complete brawl and seized upon the extraordinary energy in the building. Flyers center Trevor Zegras snapped a one-timer past a rattled Skinner, who was lunging to make saves as the shots came fast and furious from dangerous angles at 5:18 of the second.

But the Flyers weren't done.

Less than four minutes later with a never-ending and overpowering noise of Flyers fans chanting vulgarities and rattling the foundations of the building in the city's first Stanley Cup Playoff game in six years, Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was able to skate into the circle and past the right dot. Ristolainen (1) beat Skinner five-hole at 9:06.

A couple of minutes later, Nick Seeler 's seeing eye wrister from the blue line may have been deflected as it sailed past Skinner's glove at 11:18.

A couple of power plays and some desperation in the third period brought the Penguins back into the game. On their second power play of the third, Erik Karlsson (1) stepped into a slapper from the top of the slot which dribbled past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar at 9:39. The Penguins suddenly had life.

The promising Penguins' start was a distant memory. After claiming a 7-2 lead in shots, the Flyers had 19 of the next 26 shots as the Penguins flailed about.

Flyers forward Noah Cates put the game out of reach with a third period power play goal after Anthony Mantha airmailed a clearing attempt into the seats. Cates (1) quickly turned the puck to the forehand around Skinner from the side of the crease at 12:30 of the third period.

The Flyers led 4-2 and that was the end. Owen Tippett scored the empty netter at 18:48 for a 5-2 lead.

No, the report card section will not be kind.

Notes: The Penguins took 11 minor penalties. The Flyers took 13 minors. Many of the minutes were overlapping as the Penguins were 2-for-5 in 8:24 of power play time. The Flyers were 2-for-3 in 4:03 of power play time.

Coach Dan Muse shuffled his lines before the game, reuniting the Penguins' top line of Rickard Rakell , Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust. As a result, there were several other changes, too.

Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Anthony Mantha-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin

Egor Chinakhov - Ben Kindel - Justin Brazeau

Connor Dewar- Blake Lizotte -Noel Acciari

Defense

Parker Wotherspoon -Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard-Kris Letang

Ryan Shea -Connor Clifton

Penguins Analysis

It was a mental breakdown. The Penguins began the game with the proper game plan. As Erik Karlsson told PHN Wednesday morning, the team needed a few feel-goods and they got them.

And then they abandoned their game. Long before the referees may or may not have taken the stick out of their hand, or allowed the Flyers create Wrestlemania, they stopped playing their simple game. They discarded their ego which knew they needed to keep it simple, in favor of their id, which demanded an open rush attack. And then demanded they punch back. And demanded they win the physical battle instead of the game.

Instead, the Penguins got nothing and lost everything.

However, the Penguins coach both appropriately but perhaps somewhat quixotic put a lot of that on refs.

"You know, they also have to be in a position to defend themselves. It's after every, almost every whistle or shot," said Muse. "So we've got to focus on what we can control. We want to play between whistles. I think our guys were working to do that, but it's after. Every time."

He's not wrong, but the rules change in the playoffs. The rules change even more when it's the Flyers and Penguins in the playoffs. The NHL has long tacitly condoned the ECW nature of the rivalry.

Xs and Os

Tactically, the Penguins started with simple breakouts up the wall on the weak side. Tap-tap-chip-and-chase. They pinned the Flyers in the defensive zone and attacked. Exactly as they needed.

After the goal, the Penguins began trying to play with possession, trying to make cross-ice and up passes, which predictably resulted in turnovers, turnovers, and a few more turnovers.

The number of bad decisions with the puck was as difficult to count as to comprehend.It was almost like watching a team throw a tantrum, railing against the reality.

Then the game became a special teams battle as it became a circus.

Make no mistake, the Penguins put the game in the referees' hands. The Flyers' interference and pick plays to thwart the Penguins forecheck were not subtle. The Flyers defensemen were often clutching Penguins players as they tried to race toward the net.

The Penguins should have been hammering away at that. Those things should be called, but they haven't been in three games, which makes the simple, ugly game even more important.

The Penguins got away with a few things, too. The calls were consistent, though they philosophy of calling the game allowed the Flyers to muddy the track and turn the game into a Philly brawl–both foundations which benefit the Flyers.

Penguins Report Card

Team: F

The Penguins had the game. They did not have to, but they played the Flyers game, both emotionally and tactically. The turnovers were more voluminous than the onions on a Pat's wit whiz.

The Penguins channeled their frustration into even more frustrating behavior. Once the Flyers led 3-1, the Penguins were again able to gain offensive zone control, but the Flyers–as they have done throughout the series–collapsed around the net, and that final puck was elusive.

Dan Muse: Maybe it is time for the Penguins' coach to stand on top of the bench screaming. It's been a running theme all season, and it is hard to recall too many instances in which the Penguins got the benefit of the referees or reviews.

Muse prepared his team to play. Perhaps no coach can prepare his team for a battle royal in front of 18,000 screaming fans and a team able to agitate as a matter of their DNA.

Before the bad grades, there were some good performances.

A Grades

Parker Wotherspoon: Extremely good. He had no fewer than a half dozen individual defensive zone nullifications and changes of possession. He skated the puck well, and his first passes were on point. A standout performance.

Ryan Shea: He cleaned up several Penguins' messes and was hard to play against in the defensive zone. It might not show up on the stat sheet, but it was a stout defensive effort.

Bryan Rust: With the inclusion of Rickard Rakell on the top line in place of Egor Chinakhov, the line had more juice than in the previous two games combined. Rust was pushing, though it was often into the teeth of the Flyers' defenders.

Blake Lizotte: So many little plays. So many good things. As the Penguins' world was spinning out of control, he made a few plays to steal pucks, to clear the zone, and change territory.

Penguins power play: The players felt like they drew some strength from the man advantage. Two goals in five chances.

In the Middle

Stuart Skinner: He'd like Ristolainen's goal back. Maybe Seeler's, too (I believe it was deflected). So many good saves. He gets a solid B.

Erik Karlsson: He did not have his best, but it was a battling effort. He defended very well and was fully engaged. He wasn't able to command the game as he's done for large parts of the season, but he was still impactful. Another B or B+ grade.

Ben Kindel: He's fearless. There was little doubt he was leaving whatever he had on the ice. His line with Egor Chinakhov and Justin Brazeau didn't have any chemistry or connectivity, so it was a series of individual plays, but the kid gave it what he had in a game not suited for someone 5-foot-10 and probably less than 180 pounds.

Bad Performances

Sam Girard-Kris Letang: So many turnovers, missed connections, and too many moments of chasing the game. F and F-.

Anthony Mantha: Has been invisible in the series with brief flashes of the player he was in the regular season.

Justin Brazeau: No discernable impact.

The post Penguins Grades: The Turning Point, Referees & an Absolute Breakdown appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .

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