Evgeni Malkin Gets Philly Taunt Before Penguins Arrive
A young Flyers fan yelled "MALKIN, YOU SUCK!" at evgeni malkin as Pittsburgh players stepped off their bus and walked into Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday. Malkin threw out his hands as if offended, then smiled and laughed. The exchange fit a playoff series already leaning hard into rivalry theater.
Penguins arrival at Xfinity Mobile Arena
The taunt landed as the Penguins arrived for a game in Philadelphia, where the Flyers were playing their first home playoff games in eight years. Malkin’s response kept the moment from turning tense; he reacted more like a player used to the noise than one bothered by it.
The Penguins later posted the video and wrote, "A warm welcome in Philly ?," turning a sidewalk heckle into another clip in a series that has leaned on public jabs and visible point-scoring.
Crosby, Tippett, and Gritty
The Malkin moment was only one part of the series’ running scoreboard of taunts. Sidney Crosby was whistled for the first embellishment penalty of his career in Game 3, and the "Phans of Philly" put up a billboard along 95 to point back to it in South Philly.
During the series, Owen Tippett signed "Crosby sucks" on a puck for a Flyers fan. Gritty also stared down the Penguins during warmups, then beat the stuffing out of a faux Penguins mascot.
Fans in the lower bowl added to it by punching a Penguin stuffie after it landed there. The rink arrival scene now sits beside those other shots as part of a rivalry that has been as much about the crowd as the ice.
Flyers playoff return
The backdrop explains why the heckle drew attention beyond one fan’s shout. Philadelphia had gone through five playoff-less seasons and an entire John Tortorella coaching era before returning to meaningful hockey, and the first home playoff games in eight years have brought the sort of edge the building has lacked for most of that stretch.
For the Penguins, the bus walk was another small test in a series full of them. For the Flyers crowd, it was another chance to turn the arrival into part of the game before puck drop.
