Cam York scores in OT as Flyers beat Penguins 1-0 in Game 6, reach Round 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cam York flicked a wrist shot from the point, chucked his stick into the stands and chased away years of bad hockey in Philadelphia.

York snapped the tension and a scoreless tie with the goal of the former first-round pick's career, burying the winner 17:32 into overtime that ignited a wild celebration and sent the Philadelphia Flyers into the second round for the first time in six years with a 1-0 Game 6 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

The Flyers are set for a second-round showdown against Carolina.

“Just tried to put it there,” York said. “We knew that it was going to be a greasy one. It felt really good to see that one go in.”

Dan Vladar was again sensational in the net and stopped all 42 shots and prevented the Penguins from playing for a shot at playoff history.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tried to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0. They won two straight to force Game 6.

It is the Flyers who are moving on in coach Rick Tocchet's first season.

“It's been a long time,” Tocchet said. “I know there's been a lot of frustration.”

Arturs Silovs made 31 saves. Crosby skated over and consoled Silovs on the ice as the Flyers' theme song — Olivia Dean's “Man I Need” — blasted throughout the arena.

“We were a shot away from going back to Pittsburgh for Game 7,” Crosby said. "It comes down to bounces sometimes. Putting yourself in that position is tough. I think we all had a lot of belief we could dig ourselves out of it. It's just unfortunate we got behind early in the series.”

The last playoff game to head to overtime scoreless was Winnipeg and Edmonton in a 2021 first-round series. The Jets won 1-0 in the first OT.

The Flyers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they last reached the second round in the bubble season. They are in the second round in a full NHL season for the first time since 2012.

“So happy for the guys in that room,” York said. “We battled all year long for this position.”

Silovs, who allowed about four goals per game over his last 10 starts of the regular season, steadied the Penguins in place of the ineffective Stuart Skinner with wins in Games 4 and 5 and about played like a Vezina Trophy winner in Game 6.

Matvei Michkov, the Flyer's leading scorer after the Olympic break, was scratched in Game 5. He returned to the lineup determined to be a postseason difference-maker. He had a great chance in the second period on a breakaway but was stopped. The Flyers kept the puck in the offensive zone and Michkov swooped in and tried to poke the puck into the corner of the net, only for Silovs to again clamp down and deny the goal.

The Flyers, the last team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot, had 10 giveaways in the first period and made it six straight games in the series without a goal in the first period.

They can try to end that streak against a Hurricanes team that just swept the Ottawa Senators.

Kris Letang dropped Travis Konecny with a right hand as the second period ended and the long-time Penguin started the third in the penalty box. No matter. The Flyers came up empty with the man advantage — Michkov was wide on a one-timer — and they fell at that point to 2 for 17 on the power play in the series.

Vladar played like the team MVP he was in the regular season, willing the Flyers to the second round. Crosby early in the third flicked the puck from behind the net at Vladar. Perhaps auditioning for a spot in the World Cup, Vladar headed it like a soccer star over the back of the net and the game remained scoreless.

That was just one sign the night belonged to the Flyers.

“It's a lot right now,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “At no point am I expecting the season to end today.”

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Philadelphia Flyers' Dan Vladar reacts after the Flyers won Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Flyers' Sean Couturier (14) and Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) meet after the Flyers won Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Flyers' Cam York (8) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal during overtime in Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Parker Wotherspoon, left, tries to keep the puck away from Philadelphia Flyers' Tyson Foerster during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Bryan Rust, right, attempts to get the puck past Philadelphia Flyers' Dan Vladar during the first period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Ryan Shea, left, is grabbed by Philadelphia Flyers' Luke Glendening during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Parker Wotherspoon (28) collides with Philadelphia Flyers' Tyson Foerster (71) during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Konecny, right, leaps past Pittsburgh Penguins' Samuel Girard during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Taylor Hall was a No. 1 pick in the draft in 2010. He was the NHL's MVP in 2018.

Now, he is a Stanley Cup champion.

“You never know. You never know what kind of turn your life’s going to take,” Hall said after hoisting the trophy. "It was heavy. It was heavy, unbalanced but amazing.”

No longer in the prime of his career, the 34-year-old Hall was one of the biggest reasons the Carolina Hurricanes won 16 of 19 games during this playoff run.

“He’s fast, he’s physical (and) he makes great plays with the puck,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “He’s selling out to block shots. And so you need that. He’s really just been a complete player this whole playoffs.”

Hall took on a workmanlike role on a line alongside 23-year-old Logan Stankoven and 22-year-old Jackson Blake. That trio led the way through the first three rounds of the playoffs and in the final against Vegas. Hall was a force in every way — generating offense, hammering opponents and sacrificing himself on defense.

“Every line on our team has a physical aspect, and I think it falls on me to play like that,” Hall said. “Florida last year, there wasn’t a guy on their team that didn’t hit and didn’t make it really, really hard to be on the ice against them and you watch and learn.”

With Chicago, Hall played Carolina on Jan. 20, 2025, and liked what he saw in a hard-fought overtime loss.

“I got a first-hand glimpse of the intensity in which we play,” Hall said.

His agent had approached him about the Hurricanes' interest in him and a few days later he joined them as part of the same three-team trade that got them Mikko Rantanen. Initially, Hall was not in shape to play coach Rod Brind'Amour's brand of hockey.

But general manager Eric Tulsky liked what he saw in Hall.

“He brings a blend of speed, skill and heaviness that really fits for us,” Tulsy said. “He has the ability to get pucks into the zone, win pucks along the way and he has the vision and creativity and skill to get pucks to the middle and create scoring chances off it. We spend a lot of time in the offensive zone, and we need players like him who can not just win the battle along the wall but get it to premium ice and create those top-tier chances and he’s been able to do that for us.”

After starting in Edmonton and also playing for New Jersey, Arizona, Buffalo, Boston and Chicago, Carolina felt right.

“I’ve been kind of everywhere,” Hall said. “I got here and felt really at home within a couple days.”

He settled in the Raleigh area, and before the end of April signed a three-year extension worth just over $3 million annually. A lot went into it, including a bad experience as a free agent during the pandemic and being able to drive his dog to his offseason home.

“I was happy here, and I love the way we play and ultimately I saw this as a place that I think we could be here,” Hall said. “That’s what I envisioned, and everything else seemed like it made a lot of sense.”

Brind'Amour as a player was a grinder, a defense-first center who made a living out of stopping players like Hall. As a coach, he knew all about Hall's skill as a winger, his 93-point season in 2017-18 with New Jersey that got him the Hart Trophy and the kind of offensive talent the Hurricanes were getting.

The player who arrived was nothing like that.

“He didn’t bring any of that, ‘I’m an MVP’ and I’m going to do it this way.' It was, ‘What do I have to do?’” Brind'Amour said. “When he first got with us, he was playing like 12 minutes a night. It didn’t matter. It was whatever he has to do to win. That’s refreshing, and that’s good on him.”

Hall helped Carolina reach the 2025 Eastern Conference Final, then he and the team faltered against the defending-champion Panthers. That turned out to be an important lesson for a guy in his 30s thirsty for a title.

“I didn’t play well in that conference final at all, and I think just the way that Florida played and the way that I played, it was a learning experience for me even at 33,” Hall said. “It was just different way to play in the playoffs. There’s a way to play, and there’s a way that the really good teams do it. I took it over the summer and tried to just get better and better.”

Putting that into practice allowed Hall to set a record. His 18 seasons between getting drafted by Edmonton are the most before hoisting the Stanley Cup in league history for a No. 1 pick.

All because Hall made a conscious decision to fit exactly what the Hurricanes needed.

“It’s great for the role that we need him to play,” Slavin said. “I think he still has all the talent in the world, and you witness it night in and night out. He’s been great. And, yeah, has he adapted a little bit to how we play here? I think so. But that just speaks to the player that he is.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall celebrates after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall, center, attempts a wrap around as Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, left, and defenseman Dylan Coghlan defend during the first period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall shoots and scores during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall (71) celebrates after a goal by right wing Jackson Blake (53) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing Taylor Hall, center, celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)