John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (12-10-3) will host Paul Maurice's defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (15-9-2) on Thursday evening. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. EST.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
Thursday's match is the second of three meetings this season between the Flyers and Panthers. On Nov. 9 in Sunrise, the Flyers dropped a 4-3 (2-1) decision in overtime after Garnet Hathaway knotted the score midway through the third period. The season series will conclude in Philly on January 13.
The Flyers had a very busy stretch last week, playing four games in six nights to conclude the November portion of the 2024-25 season schedule. It was a successful week for the club, as the team went 3-0-1 over the four games. Over the last five games (4-0-1), the Flyers have claimed nine of 10 possible points.
This week's schedule has been the polar opposite of last week's. The Flyers have now had four consecutive non-game nights since they last played. The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-4 overtime road loss on Tuesday to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Panthers scored three goals in the third period to force OT. In a losing cause, Matthew Tkachuk compiled four points (two goals, two assists).
Here are five things to watch in Thursday's game.
1. Eleven 4 Nations participants in action
On Wednesday, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association announced the rosters for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Eleven of the participating players will be on the ice at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
The Flyers have three representatives slated to play in the tourney come February: right winger Travis Konecny (Canada) and defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland) and Travis Sanheim (Canada). Konecny, who has posted at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games, leads the Flyers this season with 30 points (13g, 17a) through 25 games played.
The Panthers, meanwhile, lead all NHL teams with eight players chosen for the 4 Nations Face-Off: forwards Aleksander Barkov (Finland), Sam Bennett (Canada), Anton Lundell (Finland), Eetu Luoustarinen (Finland), Sam Reinhart (Canada) and Tkachuk (USA) as well as defensemen Gustav Forsling (Sweden) and Nikko Mikkola (Finland).
Additionally, Flyers head coach John Tortorella will serve as an assistant coach for Team USA. Panthers general manager Bill Zito is the assistant general manager for Team USA.
2. Intrigue between the pipes
Flyers No. 1 goaltender Samuel Ersson (5-2-2, 2.70 goals against average, .902 save percentage, one shutout) has been out of action the last few weeks with a lower-body injury. He last played on Nov. 11 against the San Jose Sharks.
Ersson is now eligible to return to active roster duty. During his absence, both Ivan Fedotov (4-4-1, 3.39 GAA, .881 SV%) and Belarusian rookie Aleksei Kolosov (3-4-0, 2.94 GAA, .891 SV%) have stepped up when called upon to start.
The Flyers now have a problem -- albeit a good problem -- to figure out for their plan against the defending champs: Which goalie will start? Which one will dress as the backup? Which one will be scratched?
In the meantime, veteran star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (11-5-1, 3.04 GAA, .890 SV%, one shutout) took a personal leave earlier this week to be with his wife, Olga, for the birth of their second child. Spencer Knight (4-4-1, 2.60 GAA, .896 SV%, one shutout) started against the Penguins, backed up by Chris Driedger.
Bobrovsky is projected to start against the Flyers, his original NHL club.
3. Cates line is boosting the middle of the lineup
Although it's been four days since the Flyers' last game, it is likely that Tortorella will go into Thursday's game planning to use the same line combinations and defense pairs at 5-on-5 that the club has featured during its 4-0-1 run over the past five games.
Assuming that's the case, team captain Sean Couturier (maintenance day on Wednesday) will remain with Konency and Joel Farabee. Morgan Frost will be with Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov. Noah Cates will play between Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. Ryan Poehling will start with Scott Laughton and Hathaway.
The play of the Cates line has earned positive notice of late. Cates (1g, 4a, 5 points, +10) has been playing strong two-way hockey and has a couple points to show for it: a goal against Chicago on Nov. 23, an assist against St. Louis in the Flyers' most recent game.
Brink, meanwhile, played arguably his best all-around game of the season in the Black Friday win against the New York Rangers. The shifty and creative little winger has three points in his last five games and six shots on goal over his last two outings. For the season, Brink has 12 points (4g, 8a) in 22 games played.
After getting off to a slow start in his second full NHL season, Foerster has recently displayed a much-improved level of performance: tenacious forechecking and boardwork, two-way awareness, getting to the net with regularity. The one aspect of his rookie form that Foerster is still working to recover is being a threat to score from the flank.
In the first period of last Friday's game against the Rangers, Foerster had one of his best individual shifts of the season. He blocked a shot in the defensive zone, won a battle for the puck along the side boards in the attack zone, and then made a backhanded pass to Brink to spring him one-on-one with goaltender Igor Shesterkin for a goal. For the season, Foerster has eight points (5g, 3a) in 24 games played.
4. Five-on-five execution: Sharing the burden
The Flyers game has come together over, piece by piece, at 5-on-5 over the last month. It started with restoring defensive structure, refocusing on taking away the middle of the ice and blocking opposing shots.
Next, the team improved its breakouts and moved up the ice as a connected five-minute unit with more consistency. From there, the Flyers started to reestablish their offensive zone and neutral zone forechecks. The former in particular, had been largely AWOL in October.
Lastly, although greater consistency is still needed, the Flyers have been getting more goals at even strength the last few weeks. For one thing, Philly is finally getting some production of late from its centers.
Over the team's last eight games, Couturier has posted three goals and six points. Dressing in each of the last five games. Frost has posted four points (two goals, two assists). Cates has chipped in three points (1g, 2a). Poehling has contributed two points (1g, 1a).
The Flyers' attack is heavily reliant on wingers to carry a heavy load from an offensive standpoint: Konecny, Michkov (three goals and four points in his last five games, nine goals and 19 points for the season), Tippett (goal against St. Louis), Foerster and Brink being the main catalysts needed to provide goals. Even so, the Flyers need their centers to build off their recent performances.
In terms of offensive contributions from the defense corps, the Flyers blueline has contributed a combined 13 goals for the season, led by five Sanheim tallies. Counting Laughton's two-goal game in Seattle while playing center, Flyers pivots have also combined for 13 goals. The former is fine,but the latter is still not good enough for a 25-game sample.
5. Power play reset: Freeing up Michkov
When the Flyers got off to a 2-5-1 start through the first eight games of the regular season, very little went right at five-on-five on either side of the puck. Special teams were just about the only bright spot for Philly.
Through eight games, the power play was 8-for-31 (25.8 percent). During that span, Michkov posted six power play points (3g, 3a) among his nine overall points (4g, 5a). Konecny (3g, 1a) and Frost (4a) had four power play points apiece. Tippett (3a) and Jamie Drysdale (1g, 2a) had three points apiece.
Since that time, the Flyers power play has reverted to the sort of struggles that serially plagued the club in each of the three previous campaigns. Over their last 17 games, the Flyers rank last in the NHL at 9.1 percent (4-for-44).
Over the last 17 games, Konecny (2g, 1a) and Michkov (1g, 2a) top the Flyers with three power play points apiece. No one else has more than one power play point in that span.
With a four-night break this week, the Flyers reconvened the power play committee they assembled before the season. The overriding question: How can the team get back to what it was doing right on the power play over the first eight games of the season?
At Wednesday's practice, the Flyers made some structural tweaks during the power play portion of the training session. Tortorella explained afterward that the goal is to free up Michkov to roam around the offensive zone, which is one of the rookie's prime abilities.
