Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Muse delivered a blunt statement after the 3–0 defeat against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Sidney Crosby was held scoreless once again, the Pens remain winless, and Muse made it clear there’s nothing to be cheerful about as the 2025–26 NHL season now faces its darkest hours in the City of Bridges.
“There should be frustration. (We) should be frustrated,” Muse admitted after Game 2, per NHL.com. “We just lost two games at home. And so, I would hope nobody’s happy right now. Nobody should be.”
While Crosby sees the glass half full despite the rough start to the series, Muse may not share his captain’s perspective. The Penguins know they can still turn things around, but they are up against the ropes. If Pittsburgh doesn’t return the favor and win both upcoming games (Games 3 and 4) in Philadelphia, the series may as well be over—even if it returns to the Burgh for Game 5.
Flyers have Pens’ number
Simply put, the Penguins have not been the better team through the first two games of the first-round series. Philadelphia looks hungrier, faster, stronger, and—most importantly—far more effective. The Pens can’t buy a goal, and the Flyers make it look easy.
Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins
In a playoff matchup featuring nine Stanley Cups combined between Crosby, Malkin, and Letang, there’s a 19-year-old with fewer than 10 NHL regular-season career games who’s running the show. Porter Martone has scored the game-winning goal in both games at PPG Paints Arena and is a big reason the Flyers lead 2–0 heading back to the City of Brotherly Love.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin instruct Penguins to stay out of Flyers’ trap after Game 1 loss
Penguins have to take a look in the mirror
Less than a two-hour flight from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, Muse, Crosby, and company won’t have much time in the air for deep thinking. Still, they must figure out a way to retake control of the series. At some point, the Penguins’ playoff experience must carry its weight and not succumb to the energized young squad in Philadelphia.
The Penguins are no longer in 2012, but Crosby still doesn’t like the Flyers—least of all would he like to get knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by them, especially when postseason appearances have become rarer for the Pens, and this might be his last rodeo.
