Sidney Crosby pointed to goaltending as a major reason the Pittsburgh Penguins stayed alive deep into Game 6. The captain spoke after a 1-0 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers ended their NHL playoff run.
Crosby praised Arturs Silovs for holding the line under pressure. He said the Flyers pushed hard, but Silovs answered with key saves.
“Yeah, he was great,” Crosby said. “I mean, you know, in this circumstance that they’re going to push hard and we’re going to have to rely on him, so he made some big saves. Kept us in it. You know, it was kind of trading momentum there going on.”
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Silovs made 31 saves and forced a long scoreless battle that stretched past 77 minutes. He denied several high-danger chances and gave Pittsburgh a chance to steal the game late. Crosby said the team created better looks in the second half and overtime, but could not finish.
“For the most part in the second half, I thought we did a pretty good job of generating some good looks so far,” Crosby said.
The Penguins turned to Silovs after falling behind 3-0 in the series. He helped them win Games 4 and 5 to extend the matchup. Crosby recognised that stepping in under those conditions was not easy for any goalie.
Sidney Crosby praised Arturs Silovs in the Penguins’ comeback effort
Crosby gave full credit to Silovs for changing the tone of the series. He also mentioned Stuart Skinner, noting both goalies competed hard during the run. Still, he stressed Silovs delivered when the team needed a spark.
“I mean, just great work,” Crosby said. “He gave us the chance to win every time he was in. You know, Skins [Stuart Skinner] did as well, but that’s not easy for a goalie coming in down 3-0 and having the game that he had for a few games.
“So, just give him a ton of credit for coming in and doing what he did.”
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The game finally broke in overtime when Cam York scored at 17:32. Dan Vladar stopped all 42 shots at the other end to secure the win for Philadelphia.
The loss ends Pittsburgh’s first playoff appearance since 2022. Crosby’s comments made it clear the group valued its fight and the goaltending that kept them in contention until the final shot.
