The Flyers are still searching for that first win, and Thursday night gives them another crack at it in Detroit against a Red Wings team in the same neighborhood of frustration.
Philadelphia heads into Little Caesars Arena at 0-5-3, coming off its best chance yet to snap the skid. On Tuesday, the Flyers battled back against Seattle, forced overtime, then a shootout, but still came up short. It was progress after two lopsided losses before that, but the result stayed the same: no win.
Detroit isn’t exactly rolling into this one with confidence either. The Red Wings sit at 1-3-2 after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Devils on Tuesday, and their lone victory so far came in Game 3 against the Senators.
Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM ET at Little Caesars Arena.
Philadelphia’s projected forward groups line up as Denver Barkey with Christian Dvorak and Tyson Foerster, Trevor Zegras with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett, Porter Martone with Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov, and Michael Bunting with Jack Studnicka and Noel Acciari.
On defense, the pairings are Travis Sanheim with Oliver Bonk, Nick Seeler with Jamie Drysdale, and Simon Benoit with David Jiricek.
Joseph Woll and Dan Vladar are listed as the goalies.
The Flyers’ special teams units are set with Jiricek, Zegras, Foerster, Martone, and Bunting on the first power play group, while Drysdale, Dvorak, Tippett, Michkov, and Barkey make up the second. On the penalty kill, the first group is Couturier, Dvorak, Bonk, and Sanheim, and the second is Cates, Foerster, Seeler, and Benoit.
This is the kind of game Philadelphia has to treat as a chance to get the season moving in the right direction. The Flyers need a win badly, and the schedule doesn’t offer much breathing room after this one. Their next stretch includes the Senators, Avalanche, and Ducks before a matchup against the Blue Jackets in 12 days that looks like another possible “slump buster.”
A fast start matters here. The Flyers showed more bite after tempers flared against Seattle, and that edge is something they could use again if they want to grab control early. The idea would be to bring energy right away and not let the game settle into another long chase.
Goaltending also looms large. With Vladar starting Tuesday, Joseph Woll is the expected choice for Thursday. Philadelphia’s goalie play has been solid so far, but Sunday’s game against the Red Wings was clearly Woll’s roughest outing of the young season, and the expectation is that he’ll be looking to respond.
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Early-season growing pains have shown up quickly for Philadelphia, with young players such as Porter Martone, Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk all trying to find their footing at the NHL level. For a group that figures to matter to the Flyers future, the first few weeks have been a reminder that development does not always move in a straight line, especially when the pace ramps up right away and the margin for error gets thin.
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For Flyers fans, the appeal is obvious: Philadelphia has been tracking goaltending depth closely, and Zavragin remains one of the more interesting long-term pieces in that conversation. His recent run has been strong enough to keep him in the spotlight, even as the wider group of drafted prospects in the KHL continues to shift with injuries, ice time and roster decisions that will shape the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]