Playing their final game of the 2025-26 regular season, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (42-27-12) are home on Tuesday to host Martin St. Louis' Montreal Canadiens (48-23-10). It's Orange Out night, with a packed house of Orange and Black partisans decked out in team colors to send the Flyers off to the playoffs in style.
Game time at Xfinity Mobile Arena is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on NBCSP.
On Monday, the Flyers captured a 3-2 (1-0) home shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. In the process, Philly clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division. They will play the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
The Habs, meanwhile, will play the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's yet to be determined which team starts the series with two home games.
That question will be answered based on the Canadiens' game against the Flyers and Tampa's outcome on Wednesday at home against the New York Rangers. In the event of a tie in final points -- both the Habs and Bolts currently have 106 points apiece-- Tampa Bay has clinched the tiebreaker with 40 regulation wins to 34 for Montreal.
Here are the RAV4 Things to follow on Monday.
1. Who plays, who rests
The Flyers -- and Canadiens -- have their share of banged-up players who have gutted out games down the stretch because of their immediate importance. Tuesday's game and Wednesday's complete off day will provide both a physical and mental respite before the playoffs begin.
Meanwhile, the Flyers have four players -- Travis Sanheim, Owen Tippett, Noah Cates and Trevor Zegras -- who have been in the lineup for all 81 games played so far. Playing the full 82 games is a badge of honor for players. However, playoff readiness takes priority over personal goals.
The Flyers do not have a morning skate on Tuesday. The game day roster will become clear around 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Acquired at the trade deadline for Bobby Brink, defenseman David Jiricek could make his Flyers' debut in the finale. Other players who could suit against the Canadiens include rookie forward Alex Bump, veteran forwards Carl Grundstrom and/or Garrett Wilson and possibly defenseman Noah Juulsen.
2. Between the pipes: Samuel Ersson
While Dan Vladar has rightfully earned kudos for his play as the team's primary starting goaltender, don't overlook the job Samuel Ersson has done since the Olympic break. Ersson's play over the final six weeks gave the Flyers confidence that they could start either netminder and have a solid chance to win.
Ersson will start the finale. Overall this season, he's posted a 13-11-5 record, 3.15 goals against average and a (deceptive) .867 save percentage. He struggled with consistency and a couple of injury issues until the Olympic break.
However, after the Olympics, Ersson has gone 5-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and ,908 save percentage. His post-Olympics save percentage is identical to Vladar's.
Overall this season, Ersson has appeared in 32 games: 28 starts and four relief appearances.
3. Martone
Porter Martone, the Flyers' first pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, has posted eight points (three goals, five assists) in his first eight games since turning pro following his college season with Michigan State.
The 19-year-old winger has made an immediate impact on his team: not just with his shooting and playmaking abilities but also his heaviness on the puck. He's also brought some competitive drive. He has the elements of a future NHL star forward.
4. Personal milestones
The Flyers' main objective on Tuesday is to keep up the good habits they've developed with and without the puck. While Tuesday's game no longer impacts where the Flyers finish in the final standings, they want to play the right way in their last game before the playoffs.
In terms of personal milestones apart from the players who could potentially suit up in all 82 games, here are some reachable goals depending on which players suit up for the game.
- Travis Konecny, who is one of the likelier players to be rested, holds a one-point lead (68 to 67) over Trevor Zegras for the team scoring lead. They share the team lead with 41 assists apiece.
- Team-leading goal scorer Owen Tippett (28 tallies) needs one goal to set a new single-season career high. He needs a two-goal game to reach the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career.
- Matvei Michkov needs one goal to hit the 20-goal mark in each of his first two NHL seasons.
- Noah Cates needs a two-goal game for his first 20-goal season in the NHL. The same goes for veteran center Christian Dvorak.
- Travis Sanheim needs a three-point game to reach the 40-point mark for the second time in his NHL career. The defenseman has already set a new career-high with 12 goals.
