The Philadelphia Flyers won the first three games of their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs but failed in their first two opportunities to put away their in-state rivals. They’re hoping the third time will be the charm.

Philadelphia attempts to close out the series when it hosts Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Wednesday. After the Flyers pushed the Penguins to the brink of elimination by beginning the matchup with three straight victories, Pittsburgh staved it off with 4-2 and 3-2 triumphs.

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Both teams are familiar with comebacks from 3-0 deficits in the postseason. The Penguins squandered a 3-0 lead against the New York Islanders in the 1975 Stanley Cup quarterfinals, while the Flyers rallied to defeat the Boston Bruins in 2010 after losing the first three games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Kris Letang has been the hero for the Penguins during their current comeback attempt. After being kept off the scoresheet in the first two games of the series, the 39-year-old defenseman scored what proved to be the winning goal early in the third period of Game 3 and snapped a 2-2 tie late in the second period of Game 4.

Wednesday also features the resumption of two first-round series that are deadlocked at 2-2. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights both posted crucial Game 4 victories on the road and now return home to face off against the Montreal Canadiens and Utah Mammoth, respectively.

The Canadiens were on their way to a 3-1 series lead after scoring two goals in a 3:23 span midway through the third period last Sunday, but Jake Guentzel halved Tampa Bay’s deficit later in the session and Brandon Hagel tallied twice in the third en route to a 3-2 triumph. One night later, Utah stormed back with four consecutive goals after allowing the first three before Brett Howden drew Vegas even midway through the third period with his second tally of the game and defenseman Shea Theodore scored at 19:08 of overtime to give the Golden Knights a 5-4 victory.

Here are some players with value to consider for player prop betting for Wednesday’s NHL playoff games.

NHL Best bets for Wednesday, April 29

Brandon Hagel, Lightning: Anytime goal scorer (+145, FanDuel)

The Canadiens have no answers when it comes to stopping Hagel, who tallied in each of the first four games of the series, including a pair of two-goal performances, and leads all NHL players with six postseason goals. Dating back to the regular season, the 27-year-old left wing has scored in eight of his last 11 contests. Hagel set a career high with 36 goals in 2025-26 and is the hottest player in the playoffs at the moment, so it makes sense to continue riding him until Montreal figures out a way to keep him in check.

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Sidney Crosby, Penguins: 1+ assists (-140, DraftKings)

After being limited to one assist over the first three games of the series, Crosby has come up big with his team fighting for its playoff life. The two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner has posted back-to-back two-point performances with the Penguins in a do-or-die situation, scoring one goal and setting up another in Game 4 before notching a pair of assists in Game 5. Crosby has collected 25 assists in 28 career playoff games against the Flyers and 16 in 24 postseason contests with Pittsburgh facing elimination, so I like the legendary center to notch one in Game 6.

Lawson Crouse, Mammoth: Over 0.5 points (+110, BetMGM)

Crouse has been one of Utah’s most reliable players offensively of late. The 28-year-old left wing landed on the scoresheet in five of his final seven regular-season outings and recorded at least one point in three of the first four games of the series against the Golden Knights. Considering that Crouse picked up an assist on the Mammoth’s first goal in Game 4 after scoring twice in the previous contest, I think he’ll make an offensive contribution Wednesday to extend his streak.

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