PHILADELPHIA — The Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, trailing 0-2 after the Flyers won the first two games on the road. Sidney Crosby has not recorded a point in the series.

It is the sixth time in Crosby's career that his team has faced an 0-2 series deficit. He helped rally the Penguins from that position twice in 2009, in the conference semifinal against the Washington Capitals and in the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings, both in seven games. The current series is Crosby's first playoff appearance since 2022.

"I think it's always heightened when you're down in a series," Crosby said. "You're trying to give momentum back. I know how quickly that can turn."

The Flyers killed off all seven Penguins power-play opportunities through the first two games. Crosby scored 23 of his 74 regular-season points with the man advantage.

"The power play is not always going to score, but you want to try to at least get momentum from it," Crosby said. "And we haven't done a good enough job doing that. So executing that would, I think, go a long way, for sure."

Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar has posted a .956 save percentage in the series, and Philadelphia's defense has allowed 15 Penguins shots from the inner slot through two games. Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet pointed to the team's approach in the opening games.

"We've been a little more aggressive. I like our up-ice pressure," Tocchet said. "Little things have helped, whether it's a key block or a clear or a Vladdy save."

The Penguins will start goalie Stuart Skinner for the third straight game. Forward Justin Brazeau, who is 6-foot-6, is expected to draw into the lineup for Game 3 and skate with rookie center Ben Kindel and winger Egor Chinakhov, who has not scored in the series.

Tocchet addressed the mindset heading into the first home game of the series. "I've been in those situations where you could be over-keyed," he said. "We're excited to get playoff hockey back, but we've got to be careful that we're not overexuberant. We're going to have to play our game, which is a smart game, but we can't be overexuberant."

Game 3 falls on the eighth anniversary of the last Flyers playoff home game, when Philadelphia was eliminated in Game 6 of a first-round series by Crosby and the Penguins.