Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/18/2026

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, April 18, 2026

Venue:  PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Flyers +124, Penguins -148; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Flyers +125, Penguins -150; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Flyers +125, Penguins -150; Over/Under:  6 goals

Philadelphia Flyers:  43-27-12 (3rd place, Metropolitan Division)

Pittsburgh Penguins:  41-25-16 (2nd place, Metropolitan Division)

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Philadelphia Flyers:  7-3-0 last 10

Pittsburgh Penguins:  5-5-0 last 10

The Flyers are entering the playoffs with 98 points, a 43-27-12 record overall, and they were 23-14-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Montreal Canadiens in their last game, winning that one at home 4-2. Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk, Porter Martone, and Alex Bump each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Matvei Michkov led the team in assists with 2 while Matvei Michkov led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Samuel Ersson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 29 shots with 27 saves and a .931 save percentage. Their offense has scored 250 goals this season averaging 3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 243 goals against them allowing 3 goals per game.

The Penguins are entering the playoffs with 98 points, a 41-25-16 record overall, and they were 20-13-8 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the St Louis Blues in their last game, losing that one on the road 7-5. Avery Hayes led the team in goals scored with 2 while Anthony Mantha, Elmer Söderblom, and Rutger McGroarty each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Kevin Hayes led the team in assists with 2 while Anthony Mantha and Avery Hayes each led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Stuart Skinner was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 21 shots with 17 saves and a .810 sv percentage before getting replaced by Artūrs Šilovs who allowed 2 goals on 9 shots with 7 saves and a .778 save percentage. Their offense has scored 293 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 268 goals against them allowing 3.3 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Flyers listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Flyers have looked good in their games this season with their 43-27-12 record overall which had them in the top half of their division in the East. They have been a good road team too with their 23-14-4 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Penguins have looked good in their games this season with their 41-25-16 record overall which had them right near the top of their division in the East. They have looked good on home ice too with their 20-13-8 home record this season. This is the 1st game of a 7-game series between the 2nd seeded Penguins and the 3rd seeded Flyers in the Metro for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. The Penguins have been hot over the last month, surging up into the 2nd spot in their division, but they really lost a lot of their steam once they clinched their playoff spot. They haven't looked good to end the regular season as they are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and they have lost 3 games in a row now. They have been resting players in these games too so they definitely haven't been at their best lately, but that could be an issue here trying to flip the switch back on. The Flyers have been rolling in their games lately as they made a really late playoff push to earn the last spot in their division. They pretty much needed every point right to the end of the season, so they have been playing playoff hockey for a while now. They are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and they are entering this series with the momentum on their side from 3 wins in a row now. This is going to be a really heated series between two rivals and the Flyers are going to bring their best effort to try and poach the series opener with the Penguins not at their best over the last week. Look for the red hot Flyers to continue rolling into this series with an upset win in the 1st game. The best way to place a bet here is on the Flyers to win this game. 

Flyers Penguins Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, April 18, 2026 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Flyers 4 Penguins 3.

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Philadelphia Flyers: 42-62 (-11.7 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 to +150. 52-69 (-11.2 units) on the moneyline after playing a home game. 6-16 (-9.7 units) on the moneyline after a 3 game winning streak. 13-6 OVER after a 3 game winning streak.

Pittsburgh Penguins: 31-27 (+6.8 units) on the moneyline revenging a loss vs opponent as a home favorite. 19-11 (+8.7 units) on the moneyline after allowing 6 goals or more. 62-58 (+7.7 units) on the moneyline after playing a road game. 20-7 OVER after allowing 6 goals or more.

Philadelphia Flyers:  N. Grebenkin (RW) Out - Upper Body. R. Abols (C) Out - Ankle.

Pittsburgh Penguins:  C. Jones (D) Out For Season - Shoulder. F. Hallander (C) Out - Leg.

"He's getting information, and I think he's starting to understand and apply it. I think early on, maybe he didn't understand it as much and maybe got frustrated. I think he's just applying the information. I think communication is a lot better, too, with the language barrier and stuff like that." - Rick Tocchet after his team’s win against the Canadiens in their game on Tuesday. 

“It was something we talked about before the game. I discussed with staff, not necessarily saying anything was set in stone, but if there was an opportunity to present itself, just to get both guys some work. That was something we were looking to do, and so just decided to (because) we started giving up more than we needed to. I felt like this dude (Skinner) got a good amount of work. It's just, it's a unique time in the sense that we have time between games for both guys.” - Dan Muse after his team’s loss against the Blues in their game on Tuesday. 

LW Tyson Foerster

C Trevor Zegras

RW Owen Tippett

LD Travis Sanheim

RD Rasmus Ristolainen

G Dan Vladar

LW Yegor Chinakhov

C Sidney Crosby

RW Bryan Rust

LD Parker Wotherspoon

RD Erik Karlsson

G Stuart Skinner

Points: Travis Konecny (68)

Goals: Owen Tippett (28)

Assists: Travis Konecny (41)

GAA: Dan Vladar (2.42)

Points: Sidney Crosby (74)

Goals: Anthony Mantha (33)

Assists: Erik Karlsson (51)

GAA: Stuart Skinner (2.99)

Coaches:

Philadelphia Flyers: Rick Tocchet (1st season)

Pittsburgh Penguins: Dan Muse (1st season)