Penguins rout Flyers as Sidney Crosby continues to add milestones against rival

King Jemison, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan 15, 2026

Published in Hockey

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PITTSBURGH — The Penguins faced a tired and troubled Flyers team Thursday. They took full advantage of their cross-state rivals.

Pittsburgh dominated Philadelphia in a 6-3 win at PPG Paints Arena.

The home team was firmly in control entering the final period. They added an exclamation point anyway, scoring two goals within 90 seconds to open up a 6-1 advantage.

Blake Lizotte started the flurry with a big hit on Denver Barkey early in the third period. He then fought Matvei Michkov, and Sidney Crosby scored his 60th goal against the Flyers — the most of any player in NHL history — on the ensuing power play for Michkov’s roughing penalty.

Connor Dewar added another 1:17 later to open up the rout against a Philadelphia team that had lost their fourth straight game the night before.

The Penguins started the first period pretty well, too.

It took almost 58 minutes for them to score in their shootout loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. They were on the board in 2:16 Thursday.

After Cam York was called for hooking 23 seconds into the game, Justin Brazeau made the Flyers pay — tapping in a beautiful backdoor feed from Ben Kindel.

The Penguins continued to dominate the first-period action from there. They easily killed a pair of penalties and converted another power-play goal 12:25 into the game.

Bryan Rust fired a wrister from just outside of the circle — not a particularly heavy one — that found the back of the net anyway, as Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell provided some traffic around the net. Letang and Crosby registered assists. That snapped the Penguins captain’s season-long three-game streak without a point and gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.

They added another about a minute into the second period, with a connection that’s starting to develop some staying power.

Malkin fed Egor Chinakhov on the rush for the young Russian’s third goal in eight games as a Penguin. He had three goals in 29 games for the Blue Jackets before the late December trade that brought him across the border.

The Flyers responded a minute later with a tip-in goal from Rodrigo Abols. There was not much Stuart Skinner could do about it, as Abols redirected the puck just in front of his crease.

Philadelphia controlled much of the second period from there, without scoring. But as they’ve done so many times this season, the Penguins’ fourth line stole back the momentum.

After carrying the puck into the zone and nearly creating a goal, Lizotte won a puck battle in the corner and shuffled it to his linemate Noel Acciari. Lizotte tipped in the rebound from Acciari’s shot to give the Penguins a 4-1 lead entering the second period.

The Flyers converted a pair of late goals against Skinner. He’d allowed just one goal in each of his previous four starts. The Penguins’ struggles to cleanly close games continued, but this time they had plenty of cushion.

It was over when …

Although the Penguins gave up a couple of late goals, the two goals early in the third period that opened up a 6-1 advantage provided plenty of cushion for the Penguins’ second win — and fifth point — in three games against the Flyers this season.

Stat of the game

— 210-32-13: The Penguins’ record when Crosby, Malkin and Letang all have a point in the same game (as they did Thursday), according to the ESPN broadcast.

Around the boards

— Rutger McGroarty has practiced with the team in a non-contact jersey the past two days. He was placed on injured reserve with a concussion Jan. 7 after a collision in practice the previous day.

— The Penguins returned Tristan Broz to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after he was called up to provide forward depth Tuesday. He and goalie Sergei Murashov were named to the American Hockey League All-Star Classic on Thursday.

— Crosby reached the 50-point mark for the 19th season — tying Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin for sixth all-time. Ron Francis and Gordie Howe share the record with 22 seasons.

— The Penguins captain has 100 career assists against the Flyers between the regular season and playoffs. It’s the second franchise he’s reached that mark against (103 assists vs. the Islanders).

Up next

The Penguins conclude a three-game homestand against Columbus at 7 p.m. Saturday. It’s their final meeting with the Blue Jackets this season. Pittsburgh is 2-0-1 thus far.

It will be the Penguins’ final home game until Jan. 29. They embark on a four-game road trip after the Columbus contest.