Pittsburgh Penguins: Five Things to Watch in First-Round Matchup

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 26: Sidney Crosby
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 26: Sidney Crosby
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  1. Odd-man rushes

One thing can almost be guaranteed for this series: a high number of odd-man rushes and breakaways. Both teams play an intense, offense-first system, with pinching defensemen. This opens up the game to plenty of opportunities for teams to take advantage of.  Jesse Marshall over at The Athletic gave a good breakdown of the Penguin’s plan to use the lob pass to bypass the Flyers system, which you can read here.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins will need to make sure that any defenseman that pinches in on a play is replaced by a back-checking forward. This has been an issue for the team in recent weeks, resulting in plenty of breakaways and 2-on-1s.  For the Flyers, the 2-1-2 system tries to prevent this by not buying in too hard, but isn’t impenetrable.