Sidney Crosby liked one thing about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ start to the season after they opened the 2026-27 campaign by demolishing the rival Philadelphia Flyers.
Pittsburgh rolled to a 7-0 road victory Wednesday, with Nicholas Robertson scoring twice in his Penguins debut and goalie Arturs Silovs stopping all 19 shots he faced.
The Penguins scored twice in the first period, three times in the second and twice again in the third. Filip Hallander had three points, Hendrix Lapierre added two, and Crosby highlighted the key factor for Pittsburgh’s demolition of Philadelphia after the game.
“Just a good start on the road,” Crosby said. “I thought we just had the right mentality coming into the game.
“It’s the first game, I don’t think anyone expects it to be perfect, but I thought we just had a good work ethic and led with that, and then things just kind of took care of themselves.”
Robertson, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in July, played alongside Crosby and Rickard Rakell in the Penguins’ first forward line. Crosby praised the former Leafs winger afterward.
“I think he’s got great speed and just works every shift,” Crosby said. “He brings the same thing and he’s got a great shot, so yeah, I think it’s more his effort than anything.”
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Lapierre, Kaedan Korczak and Declan Carlile also contributed in their first Penguins game, with Crosby having kind words for them too.
“I think it just builds confidence,” Crosby said. “I don’t think it’s ever easy for guys to start with new teams, but I think having the benefit of (training) camp and just trying to get on the same page there. There’s a number of guys that are with us for their first game, so I think that helps. There’s other guys in the same situation, so hopefully we’re on the same page as much as we can.”
The seven-goal win tied Pittsburgh’s largest shutout victory against Philadelphia, matching its 7-0 victory on March 19, 1988.
Pittsburgh will host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET in the Penguins’ second game of the season.
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